In All Things Balance
by ffdrake
Summary: A Dark Lord of the Sith, lost in time receives a vision that leads her to a world drowning in the Force. There she is given a chance to build an Empire of her own with Force users who are neither Sith nor Jedi. GreyHarry, rated M for language, violence, and language. Pairings Decided: SB/AB, SI/NT, RL/OC, HP/?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Just a quick little note here before we begin. First of all this story is not beta'd. So I apologize beforehand for any grammar or spelling issues. If you see something please let me know but please be polite. Or if you're up for being a beta and like this story please let me know as well. Also, any suggestions or things you would like to see are welcome as well. Also, my British English (and yes there is a difference between American and British English) is more than a little rusty…but I will be trying my best to portray the characters accurately.**

 **Secondly, I love both of these fandoms and think that this is an excellent cross. That being said…I am not an expert on the lore of either. I know quite a bit for both and I try to fact check myself while writing, but if there is something fairly blatant that I missed please let me know. Politely.**

 **Thirdly, as the title semi-implies, this will be a Grey Harry story. However I am going to try and avoid some of the normal dark/grey Harry tropes if I can. Pairings for the story is a little up in the air, however I have a good idea of who will end up with whom. My main dilemma right now is whether or not Harry will end up with one or two girls. But again, if there is something that you want to see please let me know and if there is enough support behind the idea I will go with it.**

 **Fourthly, my long term goal for this will be a two book series. The firs will be in the HP verse and the second will be in the SW verse.**

 **Lastly, I welcome reviews of all kinds. Tips, suggestions, comments, complements, critiques, what have you. All that I ask is that the reviews are polite.**

 **Without further ado, here we go! I hope you all like it! The story beings in the SWTOR, just before the Zakuul invasion, verse but will jump forward quickly in a manner that I hope is believable (and I understand the irony of asking something to be 'believable' in a HP/SW fanfiction).**

 **Standard disclaimer; I do not own Harry Potter or Star Wars, but you can be sure if I did I would be partying on a private island somewhere.**

 **Texts style:**

"Normal Speech"

" _Foreign Language"_

' _Inner Thoughts'_

" _ **Holo/Intercom Speech"**_

 **Chapter 1**

Korriban, the home world of the Sith. Renowned for being one, if not the, of the most inhospitable locations throughout the known galaxy. On an average day the desert planet surface temperature made Tatooine seem cool by comparison. Scattered on the planet's surface were dozens of carnivorous predators that made the planet their home.

Deep within the depths of the great Sith Temple were the Dark Council Chambers were the Twelve Members of the Dark Council would gather. But now the grand chamber stood empty save for a singular human female kneeling on the metal floor while a deshade easily twice her size stood off to the side standing vigil. The doors to the chamber opened with a hiss, allowing a single red skinned twi'lek to enter. The woman stopped nearly a dozen paces from the figure in the center of the room before dropping to her knees.

"Darth Nox. The enemy has landed planet side and are now marching on the temple. They tore through our planetary defensive forces as if they weren't even there. We can't hold them my Lady Darth…the Temple is lost."

Opening her dark yellow eyes Darth Nox, Darth Lord of the Sith, member of the Dark Council, Head of the Pyramid of Ancient Knowledge, and one of the three 'Pillar's' of the Sith Empire, fought against the desire to simply kill the twi'lek for her failure. "You were in charge of the planetary defense force Darth Atrainess." Darth Nox said coldly.

"Forgive me my Lady." Darth Atrainess begged, nearly pressing her face to the ground in reverence. "They caught us by surprise. Our fleet was overwhelmed before we could even mobilize a proper defense."

For the second time since her ascension to the Dark Council, Korriban was under siege. Only this time it wasn't the Republic or the remnants of Revan's army. No, this time their enemy was someone new. Someone well organized and armed. And unfortunately…someone well prepared. Rising from her knees, Darth Nox tucked a strand of her waist long midnight black hair behind her ear. Wiping at her pale brow, she frowned at the moisture on the back of her gloved hand. "The ritual isn't complete." She said focusing on the array of runes that'd she'd spent countless hours carving into the floor. "I need more time. You will lead what remains of our defense force against these invaders. Should you return before I am ready…then I will make your fate a thing of legend."

"Yes Darth Nox." Darth Atrainess said quickly before bowing and all but sprinting out of the room.

" _You should've just killed her Mistress."_

Glancing towards the last of her 'faithful' companions, Darth Nox waved Khem Val's comment off. "She still has her uses. If she fails…then her death will at least buy us a few moments more."

Looking down runes her mind wandered back to her companions and their fate. Her former Master Zash, the bitch that she was, had well earned her fate. It still brought a smile to Nox's face each time she thought of her former Master sealed forever in that Rakata Tomb. Andronikos was the first to willingly leave her side. Her very temporary lover and pilot had taken the first chance he had and fled during the conflict with the Revanites. Talos had been next to leave. But unlike Andronikos, Talos had left with her blessing and an oath to send anything of value to her. Xalek, her trusted second apprentice, had been the first to die. But he managed to fell ten Jedi before succumbing.

Ashara…her dear second apprentice. Her little togruta Jedi that she managed to turn. Her friend. Her sister. Her lover. She was swallowed by the corruption of Sith politics. An up and coming Darth Lord had set his sights on her seat on the Dark Council and had tried to hurt her by going after her apprentice. But Ashara's power proved too much for any the Darth sent against her. And in the end it took the Darth, his three apprentices, and two squads of Imperial troopers to take her down. Her death did affect Nox, but not in the way the Darth had hoped. The troopers that'd survived the encounter with her apprentice where hunted down and cut to pieces. The apprentice that'd survived and the Darth however were not granted such a quick death. Both were dragged before her in the midst of a Dark Council Meeting, and she spent the next day and a half showing why she'd earned her place. By the time she was done…well none ever dared to plot against her again. She even heard that the Overseer's told the story to their acolytes as a warning of what happens when you cross the Dark Council.

The Temple around her shuddered as another bomb impacted it. "Damn Atrainess." Nox cursed, using her lightsaber to carve another line into the rune array beneath her feet.

The array was something she'd discovered during her research. A Force technique that created a time dilation filed over a specified area by sending whatever was within range of the array into subspace. Naga Sadow himself had attempted to use this ritual but could never get it to work. But Nox believed that she had figured it out. After nearly three months of night and day studying and meditation, she'd figured out how create the field. The plan, which had been supported by Darth Marr and the Emperor's Wrath, was to use the technique to place Korriban within a time dilation field with as many Force sensitive individuals that could be found. While years could pass on the planet's surface…mere days would pass outside. And by the time the field was removed, the Sith would emerge with numbers rivaling those that'd sacked Coruscant.

But now with the invasion, those plans were useless. But the array could still be used for something. In a last ditch effort she'd begun modifying the array so that instead of speeding up time for those within, it would slow time down. It was her hope to weather out the invasion with as many Sith as could be gathered. But now those plans looked as if they would be useless as well.

" _Mistress…I sense someone powerful…unknown approaching."_

Hastily making the last few corrections, Nox channeled a steady flow of darkside energy into one end of the array. The lines started to glow red starting from the end and spreading like a slow moving river. "Shit." She curse after seeing how slow the array was filling and unclipping her lightsaber from her belt. "This is going to take some time. Khem, we have to delay them."

" _Of course Mistress."_

Standing side by side with her loyal bodyguard, the two waited for whatever Force sensitive individual was making its way towards them. When the door to the council chambers open they were greeted with the sight of not one, but two identical individuals. The only truly distinguishing feature separating the two were their clothes. Were one was clothed in white, the other was clothed in black.

"She's here." The one in black said. "Just as Father told us she would be."

"And she's powerful." The one in white said the faintest trace of a grin appearing on his face before disappearing. "Just as Father told us she would be."

"You will come with us Darth Nox." The one in black said taking a step forward. "Our Father wishes to speak with you."

"Really?" She asked cocking her hip out. "This invasion. The slaughtering of my fellow Sith. All of it was so that your 'father' could speak to me. He could've sent a message via holo. But, either way. Based on how old you two seem to be…your 'father' is much too old for my tastes. So tell him thanks but no thanks. I think I'll stick with my sonic vibrators."

"You don't have a choice." The one in white said, activating his lightsaber and charging at her.

Nox waited until he was within a few paces of her before lazily raising her hand. The man in white froze as she wrapped him in the Force. "Now that wasn't nice." She smirked. "Don't you know that a girl likes a little foreplay before getting right to the action?" With a flick of her wrist she sent a wave of Force lightning into the man sending him clear across the room and into the far wall.

The man in black charged forward next, his lightsaber raised and ready to strike at her. Khem almost effortlessly knocked the strike aside before retaliating with his fist against the man's head.

Drawing her own lightsaber Nox stood side by side with Khem as the two young men gained their feet. "You two didn't really think it would be that easy, did you?" Nox asked, walking towards them while keeping half an eye on the rune at her feet. ' _Half way there.'_ She mused, then frowned as she felt a pull on her power. _'This…is draining me more than I thought. We'll have to end this fight quickly…I doubt I'll be able to fend them off so easily once more.'_

The two didn't respond, preferring instead to once more lunge at her and Khem. This time however, they were not as hasty as before. Their strikes and parries were well timed with each other. Almost as good as her and Khem's were. Ducking underneath a wide swing from the man in white, she hit him with a Force push throwing him once more across the room.

Feeling danger through the Force she dropped low, almost to the floor, and felt the heat of a lightsaber just barely miss her neck. The miss was followed quickly by a Force push which took her which skidded her across the room. ' _Damn it.'_ She hissed looking up at Khem locking blades with the man in black. ' _These two are powerful…but they're not that powerful. Has the ritual truly drained me so much that I can hardly keep up them?'_

While she was still trying to get her breath back, the man in white dropped behind Khem, his lightsaber extended and ready to run the last of her companions through. Using what power she could muster, she threw a bout of Force lightning at the man, who turned and deflected the attack with his lightsaber.

Khem, seeing the opening, turned to run the man in white through, but the moment he did the man in black stabbed him in the back. The shock of seeing her guardian stabbed broke her concentration ending her lightning. The man in white didn't hesitate, reversing his grip on his lightsaber he stabbed backwards, piercing Khem through the chest.

Letting out a massive roar Khem grabbed hold of both men by their arms, effectively keeping both men in place. " _Finish it Mistress."_

Khem's words made her freeze. He didn't…no. The look in his eyes. He was ready for this. Channeling her hatred for the two men for what they were making her do, she gathered as much power as she could between her outstretched hands and then added some more.

The ball of lightning that left her hands was nearly half as tall as her. Stray bolts left electrified the air and left scourge marks on the floor as it flew. The two men, seeing what was coming, tried desperately to get away. But Khem tightened his grip even more preventing their escape. Seeing no other way, the man in white held out his left arm attempting to hold back her attack. But Nox just added more of her hatred into it even as the one in black added his own power. ' _You two cost me my last friend and companion!'_ She seethed. ' _And you will die for it!'_

The moment her lightning touched the man in white, his entire left arm disintegrated under the veracity of her attack. She didn't wait to revel in her kill. As soon as the three where caught in her lightning she ran forward to the center of the fully charge runic array and slapped her palm down onto its center. Channeling the last little bit of power needed to activate the technique.

For a brief moment time stood completely still. And then she felt the Force envelope her completely. Her body felt weightless as the waves that were purely composed of the Force gently lifted her into the air. And then there was pain. Such awful mind searing pain. Every nerve within her body felt as if they were suddenly set aflame. Her back arch as she hung suspended in the air, her mouth open in a soundless scream of pain as the Force wracked her body. It felt as if the Force was tearing apart every atom in her body and the placing it back in place.

And then her back hit the ground hard forcing what little air was left from her lungs. Rolling onto her side she gasped, trying to fight through the lingering pain that made her body twitch and spasm. As she took deep breaths she instantly coughed violently. The air in the council chambers was beyond foul. Even worse than that damned toxic waste pit on Balmorra. And then there was the ground. The amount of dust and grime covering the floor was nearly enough to cover her gloved hands.

Lifting her head she tried to look around. But the council chambers were cast completely in darkness. ' _Did those mysterious attackers truly force the Sith off of Korriban?'_ She wondered forcing herself to an upright position on the floor. _'Why hasn't the Empire retaken what is rightfully ours?'_

Activating her lightsaber, she squinted against the sudden light before looking around in shock. She was within the council chambers. But it was in ruins. The banners on the walls were gone. The chairs looked to have been worn down from time…and just as she thought, the ground was covered completely in a thick layer of dust and grime. "By the Force…" She breathed standing. "This couldn't have happened in less than a year or two."

"You are quite right young one."

Spinning around so quickly that dust rose with her movements, she leveled her lightsaber towards the location of the voice. "Oh. You." She sighed lowering her lightsaber slightly. "Wouldn't do much good against you anyway."

The presence in the Force flared momentarily before condensing, becoming visible to the eye. "Once again your powers of deduction amaze me."

Her grip tightened on the hilt of her lightsaber to the point just shy of painful. "Of all the ghosts that could've come to me…it had to be you. Darth Revan. Have you come to join my collection?"

The ghost of Revan merely smiled at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "Despite your incredible mastery of the Force Walking technique…you cannot bind me. One who has become one with the Force is beyond the reach of even you."

Nox knew this to be true. As much as it irked her. It would've been fun to bend a Jedi spirit to her will if for no other reason than to torment them. "So why have you come to bother me?"

Tilting his head to the side, Darth Revan smirked at her. "I've come to talk about your blunder. Or rather the will of the Force that created your blunder and led you to where we are now."

"I did not blunder!" Nox shouted, the walls of the council chamber shaking causing dust to fall around her in response to her sudden release of power.

The irritating grin didn't leave Revan's face. If anything it grew more pronounced. "Time, Darth Nox. Is a fickle thing. And not something to be trifled with." With a wave of his hand the dust around her feet scattered revealing her runic array. "Your ritual was a success in the fact that it held you in a Force Stasis. What failed was the length of time you were suspended for."

A feeling of dread welled up within her chest. "How long?"

"Over thirty-five hundred years."

The words rocked her to her core. ' _Three and a half millennia.'_ It didn't seem possible. It shouldn't have been possible. Her preparation were perfect. Did…did her last bout of Force lightning somehow skewer part of her array? Is that what went wrong? Or was Revan lying to her? "No." She breathed shaking her head. "I don't believe you!"

"You should Darth Nox. For he speaks the truth of the matter."

With a gasp, Nox turned and gapped at what she saw. "Darth Marr." She breathed, bowing slightly to the only man in the Sith Empire she truly respected. But as she rose she felt something unexpected from her mentor. "Darth Marr…you've become one with the Force."

Darth Marr gave the slightest nod in acknowledgement. "Yes."

"But…how?" She breathed. The Sith were not renown for becoming one with the Force.

Placing his hands behind his back the spirit of Darth Marr began pacing in front of her. "Much like you Darth Nox, I began to have doubts as to what true power meant after our battle with Revan. And much like you, I began looking into some of the…lighter aspects of the Force."

At this Nox swallowed hard. It was true after all. While she would always remain Sith…she couldn't deny the sheer power Revan had wielded. A single man…who was on par with the Emperor. The same being who'd absorbed the life energies of thousands maybe even millions to amplify his power. And all he had to do to match the Emperor was utilize both aspects of the Force. How could she have not become interested?

"But unlike you Darth Nox, who had to rely on a fallen Padawan and a few written texts…I had instruction."

Nox blinked at Darth Marr. "You had instruction in the light, Darth Marr?" She questioned. "From whom?"

"From myself, Darth Nox."

Pivoting on her heel, Nox faced the third Force presence in the room. This one was even more unwelcome than Revan. "Grand Master Satale Shan." Nox half cursed. "This frigid droid taught you, Darth Marr? You should get your creds back."

"Still as irritating as ever." The Grand Master of the Jedi order sighed. "And I hav-had a son."

Nox shrugged. "So you got a pity fuck once in your life. Still doesn't change my statement."

"Enough." Revan sighed. "We have not come before you to bicker. Our time is unfortunately limited. We've come to present you with a…chance."

Turning to Revan she threw the ghost a pensive look. "A chance for what?"

"A chance to bring order to the galaxy." Revan said.

"A chance to create a new order of Force users loyal to you." Darth Marr added, moving to stand at Revan's right.

"A chance to obtain that which you've longed for but have long been denied." Shan finished standing on Revan's left.

"A chance to bring true balance to the Force." The three of them said as one.

Nox didn't say anything in response, preferring instead to just stare blankly at the three Force spirits. If it'd been just Revan and Shan, she would've already left the room laughing her head off. But Marr presence made her pause and think. "Or, I could just ignore you three, find my own way off of this rock and find the Sith in this time."

"They would not take you." Revan said instantly.

"Your presence would violate the Rule of Two." Darth Marr added quickly. "They would perceive you as a threat, Sith or not, and end your existence."

"The Jedi will not have you either." Shan interjected before Nox could say anything. "Actions of the Force and the Republic have changed the Jedi. They have become too polarized and can only see that which is light. They would imprison you forever should you make your presence known at this time."

Nox's head was spinning. This just wasn't making any sense. The Jedi wouldn't take her. That much she suspected. But the Sith would kill her? A fellow Sith? Okay…maybe that wasn't too far-fetched once she said it again. She'd killed more than her fair share of Sith in her rise to power. "What is this 'Rule of Two' you speak of Darth Marr? The Sith have never allowed themselves to be imposed under such a restricting sounding rule before."

"A thousand years ago, a Sith named Darth Bane reorganized the Sith by creating the Rule of Two." Darth Marr began. "The rule states that there would only be two Sith from then on. One Master, who held onto the knowledge of the Sith. And one apprentice would covet the knowledge."

"Eventually the apprentice would rise up to kill the Master." Revan added. "Should the apprentice succeed, they would become the Master and find a new Apprentice. But should the Apprentice fail, then the Master would end them and find a new Apprentice."

"By this structure the Sith have been allowed to remain in the shadows, outside the vision of the Jedi." Shan said. "The rule guaranteed that only the strongest Sith would continue. And now…the two remaining Sith are indeed the dark side incarnate."

"But the balance of the Force must be maintained." Revan said. "As the dark side influence grew with the Sith, so did light side further influence the Jedi. Now the upper echelon of the Jedi order, save perhaps the Grand Master to a slight extent and a few Master's, have become so entrench in the light that anything that is not purely light sided is considered dark and must be either destroyed or contained."

"Wonderful. I can't go to the Sith because they will perceive me as a threat and kill me. And I can't go to the Jedi because once again I would be threat. And I doubt that I could just simply hide from both sides for very long." Letting out a long sigh, Nox faced the three spirits. "So what's your alternative?"

Revan gave the briefest of smiles. "There is a world deep in the uncharted section of the galaxy. A world where the Force is so heavily concentrated that it has hidden the planet from the sight of any Force user. Even those of us who've become one with the Force are blind to what happens on its surface. It is on this world were you will create a new order of Force users. One that uses both the light and the dark sides of the Force. This order shall rise up and overtake the Sith and bring the Jedi back from the far light. Thus the balance of the Force will be maintained."

Rubbing her chin in thought, Nox turned slightly from the three. "What's to say that I don't simply take this world of Force users and create a new Sith order?"

"Then the cycle will continue." Marr answered quickly.

"The Sith will rise above the Jedi, only to eventually be taken down by them." Shan continued. "Then the Jedi will rise only to once more be taken down by the Sith. And on and on the cycle of death and destruction shall continue leading to one of two possible outcomes."

"Either the war between the light and the dark shall extinguish all life in the galaxy. Or those without the Force shall rise up against those with and bring them to an end." Revan stated coldly. "Either way…whatever Empire or order you create would be destroyed. But if you follow the will of the Force…your name and your order shall live on."

"If that is not enough to convince you to follow the will of the Force…then perhaps this shall be."

The three spirits raised their hands as one the moment the words left Shan's lips. Nox didn't even have time to prepare herself as she was assaulted by the power of all three spirits. Her mouth opened in a soundless gasp and her lightsaber dropped to the ground as she was forcibly opened to the Force. She'd had Force visions before…but this was unlike any she had ever had. There were no visions…merely feelings. She could feel her anger…then curiosity. In time she felt herself filled with pride…then love unlike any she'd ever felt before. And then at the end there was…content. A level of happiness she hadn't felt since before Ashara died. But even that paled in comparison to what she was feeling from the Force. The feelings were so intense and so…light filled…that she dropped to her knees. Tears feel free from the corners of her eyes as she embraced the emotions. And then they were gone.

"What…what was that?" She gasped.

Revan stepped forward and knelt before her. "A possibility of the future. Should you follow the path the Force has set upon you. There are no accidents in the Force. You were meant to come to this time and go to this place which we cannot see. Stop trying to dominate the Force. Let it guide you…and you will experience all that you felt."

Blinking the remnants of tears from her eyes, she grabbed her lightsaber and stood. She didn't active her lightsaber again as the three spirits provided more than adequate light for her too see. "I…even with all that you've shown me…I won't stop being Sith. I won't deny who I am."

"We're not asking you too, and neither is the Force." Shan said quietly. "The Force is just asking that you embrace all of it…instead of just one side."

Looking at the three ghosts she bit her lip. Truthfully her mind was made up. But there were two serious flaws in the plan. "You expect me to teach the light side of the Force as well as the dark. I don't know if you noticed lately…but I'm not exactly a Jedi. I can hardly tell up from down when it comes to the light side of the Force."

"Then my last gift shall be well used." Shan said, walking past her with the other two in tow.

Seeing no other choice, and not wanting to lose her source of light, Nox followed the three towards what she knew was the Emperor's throne within the council chamber. At the base of the throne were a dozen crates, all of which had to be the size of a large speeder, which looked as if they'd been there for several millennia. And piled at the base of the crates was a set of robes. Jedi robes. "My last gift." Shan said kneeling before the robes. "When I knew it was my time to join with the Force…I went across the galaxy collecting both Jedi and Sith holocrons with the aid of Darth Marr. We stored them here…waiting for your return."

Nox was nearly drooling at the sight. A dozen crates filled with holocrons…there must be hundreds of the hand held devices before her. More than she'd ever hoped to have ever see. And they were hers. "Well." She said swallowing. "I guess that takes care of the whole not knowing much about the light thing. But now the much more pressing issue. How the fuck do I get off this rock? And where the fuck am I going?"

"That has been taken care of." Revan said dismissively. "Once we are done here, exit the temple. We have arranged for…suitable transportation for you. As for the coordinates…mediate on the Force and it shall provide. But first…open that crate there."

Moving towards the crate Revan pointed towards, she used the Force to rip the lid off of it. Within the crate were two lightsabers and one saber staff that she would recognize anywhere.

"Even though our vision cannot penetrate the veil surrounding where you will go, we have seen something that must occur if you are to succeed." Revan explained as Nox ran a finger along one of the hilts. "Three apprentices shall you have on this world. My lightsaber must be gifted to your first apprentice."

"Your third apprentice shall wield my blade." Darth Marr added.

"And my saber staff must be given to your second apprentice." Shan said last.

"Our time is at an end Darth Nox." Revan said, the light from their forms starting to fade casting the council chambers once more in darkness. "We will not speak again. We cannot reach you where you are going. But trust in the Force in all things. And it shall not lead you astray."

* * *

Alexsto Denwind, also known as Cap'n to his friends, was having what could be considered the best and worst week of his life. The best part of his week was the successful heist of a prototype stealth engine from the Republic, a job which had taken nearly three months to plan and had cost him three of his best men. But the drive was worth it. Once properly installed it would make his freighter, a slightly modified HWK-290 light freighter he'd named _Ender's Run_ , completely invisible to all forms of sensor scans as well as quiet his engines vibrations down to near inaudible levels.

Leaning back in his pilot's seat, he placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes as he thought of the worst aspect of this week. Which started with their escape from Coruscant. The Republic apparently wasn't too pleased with his…liberation of the stealth drive. They'd sent an entire wing of fighters and a cruiser after his freighter as they made their escape pass Coruscant's gravitational well. They'd made it out…but not before one of the nerf herding fighter pilots managed to get a grazing shot to one of his engines. The damage wasn't extensive…but once they'd entered hyperspace the damage spread and caused a short in their hyper drive forcing them out of hyperspace in the middle of a not so well charted hyperspace lane near the outer rim. And then to make matters worse…one of the other fighters must've gotten a good shot in past their shields because they were leaking atmosphere.

With no other option left, he brought his baby down onto the surface of the only planet within range that had breathable air. Although this planet, which had no name in the nav computer, could make Tatooine seem like a pleasant vacation spot. He'd had a ten man crew including himself when he'd started this job. Two died on Coruscant due to the local law enforcement droids. The third was electrocuted when the hyper drive gave out right above this unnamed planet. And since they'd been forced to set down on its surface a week ago…he'd lost three more men. All three of them died on the first day, carried off by some slug like creature that made a gundark look attractive by comparison.

That left him with only three men. Luckily they were his three best. His first mate Heavy, a weequay who was about half again as tall as his human captain and twice as thick. His gand engineer Wrench. And his sniper and only other human Scope. "Wrench say's the engines almost fix Cap'n."

Turning his head slightly, he watch as Heavy dropped down into the seat next to him. His hands holding a once white rag as he attempted to clean the grease from his hands. "Did he now?"

The weequay shrugged. "I think so. Said some poodu about 'harmony restored to aft unifiers' or something like that. And that stealth drive has 'symphonized with engine support systems'. I don't know Cap'n. You're the only one who can truly understand that little bugger."

Leaning forward Cap'n began running a systems check. "If Wrench said that…then we can leave this god forsaken rock."

"Sounds good to me Cap'n." Heavy groaned, leaning back in his chair. "After this week you're picking up my bar tab not to mention the dozen or so twi'lek dancers I'm going to be enjoying."

"Well once we get off this rock we've got to pick up some 'delicate' cargo in the outer rim for the Hutts." Cap'n smirked. Delicate cargo for the Hutts usually meant slaves, which translated further into some good creds. "And the Hutts always pay well. Forget a dozen dancers…we'll be able to fill the ship with them. Speaking of our next job, has Wrench finished installing the stealth drive?"

"Yeah he did. Little bug damn near hit me with his hydrospanner when I bumped into the thing." Heavy laughed putting his hands behind his head. "And a ship load of twi'lek dancers…I think that would honestly be the most beautiful sight in the galaxy. Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I had those two twi'lek girls that could-"

 **"** _ **Cap'n…you're not going to believe this."**_

Holding up a hand to forestall Heavy's story, Cap'n activated his com link. "What's that Scope? See something up there besides over grown slugs?"

After the first day and the loss of three of their crew, he'd decided to have Scope set up shop on top of the ship to keep a lookout. Luckily the man was born and raised on Tatooine so the heat meant little to him. _**"Cap'n…there's a woman running towards our ship."**_

Cap'n's hand hovered just above his comm link as his brain processed what Scope had just said. "What? Scope has the heat finally gone to your head? If not…then save whatever it is your smoking for the rest of us."

 _ **"Cap'n…you know that there are two things I never joke about. Blasters and women. And the woman running towards us – ouch that's gotta hurt. Whoa…nice view right down the front…damn she is nothing to joke about Cap'n. She's wearing some expensive looking clothes too. And she's heading right for us Cap'n and…oh shit. There's two of those slug creatures right behind her."**_

Taking his finger off his comm link, Cap'n leaned back in his seat. The odds that there was settlement on this planet were just about nonexistent. Not to mention the fact that this planet was unmapped. It was possible that her ship had to set down or possibly crashed on this planet. "Scope…how fancy of clothes we talking about here?"

 _ **"Very fine Cap'n. We're talkin like those fluffy Senators or them 'nobles' from Alderaan level here. If she doesn't have creds…then she knows someone who does."**_

Cap'n smirked as he looked back at Heavy. Judging by the feral grin on the weequay's face, he was thinking the same thing as him. Well…at least partially. Cap'n was thinking of the nice ransom they'd be able to cash in for the girl. While Heavy was more than likely thinking; pretty girl to have, then ransom.

"Come on Heavy." Cap'n smirked standing from his chair. "Let's go greet our next meal ticket. Wrench get up on deck, we got incoming. Scope try to take out those slugs following her."

 _ **"Gotcha Cap'n. One down one to go."**_

Leaving the cockpit with Heavy in two, the duo met up with their gand mechanic before the three of them opened the access hatch and walked down to the base of the ramp. "If she's good lookin I get a go at her first." Heavy stated quickly as the trio stepped off the ship.

Shaking his head, Cap'n smirked towards his first man. "Sorry to say…but captain's prerogative. If she's good looking…she's mine first. Besides you'd probably ruin her for the rest of us. And this time please go easy…she needs to be in _standing_ condition if we're gonna get a decent ransom from her."

Before Heavy could complain their meal ticket fell, quite literally, in front of them as the woman lost her footing climbing over the cliff face next to their ship. Her fall was her salvation though as one of the giant slug creatures swiped right where she'd just been. Quicker than the eye could follow, all three of them pulled out their blasters and opened fire on the creature with Scope delivering the killing shot to the creatures head from his position on top of the ship.

With the slug dead Cap'n made his way towards the huddled black mass of clothing that was the woman. "Lucky for you we were here little miss-" That was as far as he got as the woman suddenly lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and pressing herself tight against him.

"Thank the gods." The woman breathed in his ear, the sheer sound of her voice nearly made him shudder in pleasure. "I've been alone for so long…"

Behind him, he could hear his crew grinning. Not that Cap'n was complaining. The woman was wearing a skin tight black body suit beneath her black cloak which gave him a more than adequate _feel_ of the woman. He has half tempted to raise his head and give thanks to the gods for their gift. Scope was right…this was one fine woman they'd stumbled across. "We'll missy…you're very fortunate that me and crew had to set down here then."

The woman pulled back from him, her long black hair falling over her face and hiding it partially. Pushing her hair out of her face, Cap'n was faced with one of the most beautiful women he'd ever come across. Quite a feat considering he'd been from one end of the known galaxy to the other. But what struck him the most were her eyes. They were the most stunning shade of yellow he'd ever seen.

"Name's Alexsto Denwind," he introduced himself, not removing his arms from around her form. "My friends call me Cap'n. But you my dear…you can call me anything."

The woman smiled up at him. "I'm Ziri Kallig Nox."

Returning the woman's smile, he turned her towards his crew while keeping one arm wrapped firmly around her midsection. "Well Ms. Nox, let me introduce you to the rest of my crew. This Heavy, Wrench, and the man up top saving your life is Scope."

The woman looked at each of his crew men before turning her yellow eyes back to him. "So few of you…for such a large ship. You all must be wonderful pilots."

Cap'n couldn't help but smile at the praise. And the stupidity of the girl. Honestly…this was going to be the quickest cred grab he'd ever been a part of. "Well my dear, what we got here is an HWK-290 light freighter. She's a beauty. Modified by those you see before you. This thing damn near flies itself now. So you have no worries as we bring you back to…what world did you say you were from?"

The woman smiled, leaning into him. "I didn't say. But I'm from Alderaan. My father sent me to Coruscant to bring a trade dispute to the attention of our Senator. For some reason though…our engines failed and we were forced to land here on this planet. Poor old Keno was the first to die. He…he went out at night and…and he still had his holocom on when those things got to him and…"

"Shh, it's alright my dear." Cap'n cooed, pulling her in for another hug and more than slightly enjoying the feel of her curves pressing against him. "It's all over now. You've survived. Is there anyone else still with you?"

The woman shook her head into his shoulder. "No…I'm the last. Genry…he was the last. He…he protected me after we saw your ship come down and…and the slugs…oh god."

" _Cap'n…something doesn't feel right."_

"Eh, don't be like that Wrench." Heavy chuckled slapping the gand on the back. "The gods have favored us. Don't go throwing their gift right back at em."

"Heavy's right Wrench." Cap'n said, guiding the young woman towards the ships ramp. "No need to be rude and spoil the mood. Now my dear, if there's anything, and I mean anything, that you need don't hesitate to ask."

"Well…there is something you and your men can do for me." The woman said quietly, stopping in her tracks. "You see…seeing all you strong capable men. Well my last companion wasn't very well…I just couldn't do this with him. And, well…I've got this itch that hasn't been scratched in a long…long time. Do you…do you think you and your men would be open to taking care of my itch?" The way that she began playing with the neck of her body suit left no room for misinterpretation about what kind of 'itch' she needed scratched.

"I'll help ya sweet heart!" Scope yelled down from the top of the ship. "I can _reach_ any itch you might have!"

"No way! I claimed first!" Heavy yelled up.

Tightening his grip on the woman's waist, Cap'n got her moving once more towards the ship. "I've already told ya boys, captain prerogative. I'll help you first little lady. Let me show you to my cabin."

The woman grinned up at him. "No. Let's start right now."

Turning quickly, the woman pointed her hand towards Wrench and twisted her wrist. Wrench's head made a complete turnaround with a sickening crunch before he fell to the ground dead.

The death was so quick and violent that Cap'n could do little more than stare dumbly down at his dead friend. At least until he felt the woman's hand that was around his waist lay flat against him. Then there was pain. Such unbelievable pain. It felt as if every nerve in his body was lit aflame. With a scream he fell limply to the ground, his body twitching from whatever had just been done to him.

As he lay there trying to gain control of his body, he could hear shouts from Heavy and blaster shots impacting the ground around him. But both of those lasted only for a scant few seconds before the entire area was cast in silence.

A moment later the pain dulled enough that he could raise his head. Wrench was dead, his head tilting at an odd angle on the ground. Heavy was laying on the ramp…while his lower half was a good ten paces behind him. And there was no sign of Scope.

Pulling his blaster from his belt he began to crawl towards his ship. If he could get in he could shut himself in and tak – a heavy thump landed just in front of him blocking his path. It was Scope, his eyes completely blank. A large burn mark that couldn't have come from any type of blaster that he knew of in the center of his chest.

"Now where do you think you're going 'Cap'n'?"

Flipping over onto his back, he fired a shot towards the voice. His blaster dropped uselessly from his fingers as the red blot of pure energy was stopped in midair. "Now Cap'n, that wasn't very nice." The woman chuckled, stepping around the bolt before it sped past her, impacting the rocks behind her.

Cap'n felt his heart lurch up into his throat. It wasn't possible. Nothing could just stop a blaster blot like that except for…his eyes went down to the large metal cylinder she held in one hand. "You're a Jedi!" He whimpered looking around at his dead crew. "But-but you Jedi don't just kill! You can't do this!"  
Cap'n's body stiffened as the woman raised her hand. Electricity shot forth from her outstretched fingers. The pain he'd experienced earlier was nothing compared to the agony he now found himself in. "What do you want?!" He cried out in agony as the electricity stopped.

"Weren't you listening to me Cap'n?" The woman's silky smooth voice was close, but in his pain induced state he couldn't focus his eyes well enough to see her. "I said that I have an itch. And you volunteered yourself and your men to help satisfy it. Now Cap'n…don't go dying on me just yet. I have three and a half millennia worth of pent up frustration to take out on you."

Cap'n had just enough time to whimper as her words registered. His last conscious thought was that he never should've taken this job.

* * *

Whipping the sweat from her brow, Darth Nox set the last of the containers from the Sith temple down in the back of the ship she'd just commandeered. The crew had definitely provided her with some entertainment. It was fun to manipulate them into thinking she was just some helpless little girl who gotten lost. And the one called Scope had at least provided a few good seconds worth of fight before she killed him. And the Cap'n…well he did manage to stay alive long enough for her to work out her frustration over her current situation. Although in hindsight, she should left one alive long enough so she could drain their life force. Between her force rituals, the fight against the two men, being stuck in stasis for so long, the brief fight over her new ship and now after moving a dozen or more containers packed with holocrons she was just about completely drained.

Moving towards the captains, now hers, quarters Nox dropped down heavily onto the hard surface of the bed and rubbed her temples. The first step towards completing this task given to her by the Force was finished. And it was actually rather enjoyable. Her second task however was proving to be far harder and not nearly as enjoyable.

After disposing of the late crew, she'd gone to the cockpit and stood before the navigational computer. She must've meditated for a good two or three hours…and received nothing in return. No coordinates. No visions. Nothing. In her frustration she nearly destroyed the computer but managed to hold herself back at the last second. If she ruined anything on this ship she'd be stranded once again.

Picking up the datapad near the head of the bed, Nox reclined back and started scrolling through the pages and pages of logs the previous crew had kept. According to the log the ship was beyond well stocked with rations and fuel to take her just about anywhere she could wish to go. The stealth drive that'd they'd just stolen and installed was a nice little bonus as well.

As she read further, she felt her eyes grow heavily and soon the data pad fell from her limp fingers as her she drifted off.

 _-Dream Sequence-_

 _Standing just outside of the engine room of her personal ship, Lady Ziri Kallig watched as her apprentice meditated. It still amused her to no end that even after everything she'd shown her fallen Jedi apprentice about the Dark side, she'd still meditate on the light side of the Force._

 _"I can sense your presence Master."_

 _"I made no attempt to hide myself apprentice." Lady Kallig smirked stepping into the room as her apprentice rose to her feet and faced her. "You still meditate on the light side of the Force…even after all that I've shown you."_

 _Ashara's face remained neutral, save for a slight twitch of her lips. "You've never forbidden me from meditating on the light side Master. And while yes…what've you shown me of the dark side is truly powerful I – well I…"_

 _Stepping up to her, Kallig ran a finger down the side of Ashara's face. "You what? My little Jedi?"_

 _"I feel even more powerful when using both sides Master." Ashara said in a rush._

 _"Both?" Lady Kallig repeated. She couldn't deny that her apprentice had defiantly grown in strength since she'd taken her on. And as much as she wanted to credit the dark side for it…she knew that Ashara had not forsaken the light completely. "Many have tried to walk both paths apprentice…none survive for long."_

 _"Because usually the Sith try to kill them." Ashara shot back quickly with no small amount of heat to her voice._

 _Kallig loved seeing this side of her apprentice. She loved seeing the passion and fire that her apprentice was capable of. "And just as many are often taken down by the Jedi apprentice. Do not delude yourself into thinking in such broad terms. Jedi are good. Sith are evil. Such general terms are falsities for both."_

 _"I know Master." Ashara said quietly. "Will you strike me down for using the light?"_

 _Cupping her cheeks, Kallig lowered Ashara's face so she could place her lips lightly to her forehead. She smirked as she felt the small thrill coming from her apprentice and the slight disappointment as her lips left. Soon. Ashara was almost ready. Soon she would be hers; mind, body, and soul._

" _No. I will not stop you." Kallig said taking a step back, which required more than a slight effort. "'The Force shall set me free'. I will not force such limitations on you apprentice. I am not like your Jedi Masters. If you wish to pursue an aspect for the Force…then do so as long as it makes you stronger."_

" _Then…perhaps you can join me in meditation Master."_

 _Kallig froze. "Me? A Lord of the Sith meditate on the light? Hm. I would not limit myself so."_

 _Tilting her head to the side, Ashara regarded her in a manner that Kallig did not care for. "What are you scared of Master?"_

 _If she were anyone else, Ashara would've been laying on the floor begging mercy for such a comment. "I am scared of nothing apprentice!"_

 _Ashara grinned, an act which once again made Kallig want to teach her apprentice a painful lesson, and knelt down onto the floor. "I think you are Master. You're scared of the light. And the power of the light."_

 _"Heh. You're a fool apprentice. There is no power in the light."_

 _"Yes there is Master." Ashara said shaking her head. "If there was no power in the light…then the Sith would've wiped the Jedi from existence millennia's ago."_

 _For once, Kallig had no rebuttal. "I think you are scared Master. Either of the light or of the fact that I can do something that you cannot. And until you prove me wrong I will continue to think so."_

 _She was caught between a mountain and a durasteel wall. And what was worse…was the fact that she walked right into her apprentice's trap. If she wasn't so angry at her at the moment, she would've congratulated her apprentice on her excellent bout of manipulation. "Fine." She growled dropping to her knees in front of Ashara._

 _After a few minutes of tense silence Ashara let out a long sigh. "You won't be able to meditate like this Master."_

 _Kallig's eyes snapped open and she glared at her apprentice. "Then enlighten me noble Jedi."_

 _Kallig was more than a little pleased to see Ashara swallow nervously. "You need to let go Master. I'm sorry I tricked you…but you can't stay angry at me. You need to let go of your anger. 'There is no emotion, there is peace.' Do not try and control the Force Master. Let it guide you as the river guides the leaf. Let go of control."_

 _Letting out a low breath, Kallig closed her eyes once again. It wasn't easy for her to just 'let go'. She'd been a slave…she'd never had control of her own fate. But then she found the Force, and the dark side had indeed set her free of her old life. Slowly, almost painfully so, she felt her constant anger fading bit by bit as she sat with Ashara. Soon her mind was devoid of everything. And then she felt it. The slight subtle touching of the Force. Her first instinct was to grab hold and bend it to her will. But instead she fought against her instinct and instead let the Force guide her. Images sped past her quicker than she could see. The whirlwind slowed and she found herself on Nar Shaddaa, specifically in front of the headquarters of her cult. She was helpless to do anything but watch as nearly three dozen gangsters marched into the building and started indiscriminately slaughtering her followers. Many died screaming her name and asking for protection. Rylee was the last to fall. She didn't want to watch, but was helpless to turn away, as the leader of her cult was brutalize before her very eyes. The last thing to pass her lips, 'Lady Kallig'._

 _Eyes snapping open, Kallig stumbled back and crawled quickly across the floor away from Ashara. "Master!" Ashara cried. "What's the-"_

 _"Andronikos! Set a course for Nar Shaddaa immediately!"_

 _-End Dream-_

Blinking the last remnants of sleep from her eyes, Nox yawned wildly and stretched her limbs as best she could in the tight space of the bunk. Dreaming of Ashara had been a welcome happening. But it could've been better. Why couldn't she have dreamt of the time the two of them had shared three bottles of Corellian whiskey. Not to mention the male and female twi'lek dancer they'd hired for the night. But no. She just had to dream of the time her little apprentice managed to get her to meditate on the ligh – no. It couldn't be that simple. Could it?

Springing up from her bed, she bolted down the length of the ship towards the cockpit. Once there she immediately dropped to her knees and closed her eyes. ' _Let go…there is no emotion, there is peace. Find the Force and let it guide you to where you need to go.'_

As she repeated her mantra, she felt the slight tug of the force. Letting it take her, she floated weightlessly as the current of the Force brought her across the galaxy. Stars flew past her as the Force pulled and pushed her back and forth. Then with an almost violent lurch the current stopped and she found herself staring at a system with eight planets circling a yellow star. And then the current of the Force was back, forcing her consciousness away from what she'd seen.

Opening her eyes from her meditation she looked down at the navigational computer and started imputing location as best she could. ' _By the Force.'_ She cursed as the computer tried to find what she'd seen. ' _Revan wasn't joking about the middle of nowhere. This has system has to be in the middle of the unexplored galaxy.'_

After several minutes the computer finally settled. Unfortunately due to the fact that she was asking for coordinates in the unexplored region, the computer couldn't give her an exact system. It instead gave her a small quadrant of the galaxy. ' _Son of a…Revan if you weren't dead already…'_

At best it would take her a year to reach the quadrant. She'd be able to take the hyperspace lanes until she reached the edge of the outer rim. Once she was at the end of known space, she would have to barter whatever she could from the ship for fuel cells and rations. After that…it would be a series of short hyperspace jumps and prayers to the Force that she didn't hit anything during the jumps. The only plus side to blind jumping was if you hit something…wouldn't even know it.

But even when, or rather if, she reached the quadrant specified she could spend a year of more wandering around the different solar systems trying to isolate the one she'd seen in her vision. Glancing behind her, she eyed the containers of holocrons. ' _Well…at least I won't be too bored on this trip.'_ And with that last thought she set a course for the system closest to the edge of the outer rim that she could find.

* * *

Within the ether that was the Force, three spirits watched as the lone shuttle took off from the sands of Korriban. "So she figured it out, within only a day. Impressive." Revan noted absentmindedly.

"I told you she was the one." Darth Marr said with a slight note of smugness.

"I still question having a Sith create this new order of Force users." Satale Shan sighed. "And she had help coming to the solution to her first trial."

"It is not our place to question the will of the Force descendent." Revan said. "She was destroyed and remade by the Force. And in time she will bring balance back to the Force. And if not…then there will soon be another."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Just gotta say…I am absolutely astounded by the response to this story. Within a week over a hundred of you have added this story to your Follows and over 60 of you have added this to your Favorites. I am blown away. I'm going to try, and key word there is try, to come out with one chapter a week. But given how life and work can get in the way…I would say that safe bet would be one chapter every one to two weeks.**

 **Thank you very much to those of you who have reviewed. I try to respond to reviews if you ask questions or gift tips or suggestions or even critiques. Please keep the reviews coming guys, they really help as a motivator.**

 **As for the pairing for Harry…truthfully I'm not necessarily the biggest fan of Harems. They get confusing at times. But based on responses…Harry will end up with two girls. The question still remains though, which two. Based off of reviews, PM's, and personal preferences, the list is down to five: Hermione, Luna, Ginny, Daphne, and Susan. Also, I need a sixth female (will be explained later), any suggestions?**

 **Whether or not they end up with Harry or not, they will have a part to play in the story. Let me know which duo you all would like to see.**

 **One last note that I forgot to mention in chapter 1. I am changing the time line of HP. Instead of Harry being born in 1980, I'm shifting it so that he is born in 1990. This move is based purely off of a technological standpoint. Needed technology to be a little more advanced than it would've been in the source material.**

 **Chapter 2**

Rising from her bed, Darth Nox rubbed the last bit of sleep from her eyes as she walked across the ship towards the refresher. Removing the few articles of clothing she still wore, a chest wrap and loincloth, she stepped into the sonic shower. Withstanding the pulses for a few seconds, she got out and went over to the small mirror. Seventeen standard galactic months. That was how long she'd been on this 'quest' that'd been given to her by the Force. Seventeen months of flying through the uncharted quadrant of the galaxy trying to find the star system she'd seen in her vision. And she still had nothing to show for her efforts.

Every cycle was the same. She would wake, check the navigational computer to see if it'd calculated a route for a short hyperspace jump and if so then make the jump. If not however…then she was stuck flying the old fashion way until it could plot a safe course for her. Of course there were the few times she'd made a jump blindly. But after just barely missing a star she thought better of blind jumps.

Rubbing her temples she stared closely at her reflection in the mirror. The only upside to the painstaking long trip was that if gave her the chance to study the many holocrons that she'd brought with her. And while she didn't have an opponent to test herself against someone…the results of her mediations were evident. Her once vividly yellow eyes had almost completely reverted back to their original green color. Almost. She honestly doubted that her eyes had a slight glow to them before she became a full fledge Sith all those years ago. Or the slight blackening of her sclera near the corners of her eyes.

Stepping away from the mirror she picked up her discarded clothes, stared at them for a moment and then dropped them back to the floor and proceeded to walk naked through her ship. Modesty had become a moot point months ago.

Dropping down into the captain's seat, she went through her routine check of the ships systems. Fuel was starting to become a problem. She could last for maybe another two months at most and then she would be stuck floating adrift. Rations where not such a big issue. To conserve both food and energy, she would enter a deep meditative trance while the ship's long range scanners tried to find the either the star system she was looking for or a safe hyperspace route. She'd actually managed to go ten days in a meditative trance once, waking only because of the ships alarm notifying her that it'd plotted a safe jump.

Turning to the navigational computer she saw that it had once more managed to plot a safe jump. The jump would only last for about twenty minutes, but it would be enough to bring her within sensor range of the next nearest star.

Activating the hyper drive, she watched mesmerized as the dark galaxy quickly tunneled in mixture of star light and blue. She always enjoyed watching out the view port as her ship sailed through hyperspace. Some of her best memories were of her and Ashara, and to a lesser extent Andronikos, sitting together on the bridge watching the swirling lights of hyperspace pass them by.

Hearing the warning alarm Nox pulled back on the lever to bring her ship out of hyperspace. As her ship slowed, her head was thrown back as her body was physically and spiritually assaulted by the Force. A feeling that was eerily similar to when she'd entered the Force Stasis.

Several long moments later and she was able to breathe again as the Force receded. "By the Force." She whispered, her fingers flying across the controls of the navigational computer. In all of her seventeen months of searching…she had yet to feel anything like it. She truly hoped that it meant what she hoped it did.

As the navigational computer finished its scan of the star system, she actually jumped out of her chair in her exuberance. Sitting back down quickly she fought against the reddening that she was sure was spreading across her face. She was Sith. She should act better than that. Her only saving grace was that no one was with her to have seen that. By the Force…if Ashara had seen what she'd just done…she would've never heard the end of it.

Focusing herself once more to her task, she looked over the readings carefully. Of the eight planets in the system, only the third planet from the star actively supported life. According to her readings, it looked as if it would be possible to colonize the fourth planet and maybe some of the moons of the larger planets. But at the moment they were devoid of any life. Setting the coordinates for the third planet she focused the ships scanners to focus on it.

According to her scans it was a garden planet that supported an almost ridiculous amount of life forms. The scans also showed that there was radiological damage to certain parts of the planet, meaning nuclear weapons. There were also satellites in orbit around the planet. Both facts helped to settle her mind slightly. At least the denizens of this world had some form of space technological prowess. If the Force had sent her to a world where the most advanced form of travel was a wooden raft…she probably would've lost it. Hacking into one of the satellite was almost comically easy. As her computer decoded the signal from the satellite she threw her head back and laughed. Her view screen was filled with the image of a human male talking into an amplifier while hundreds of others watched. Of course this was another planet full of humans, or at least a derivative of them. Force forbid she stumble across a planet of half-naked togruta's.

As she drew closer to the planet she felt another lurch in the Force. Only this one wasn't cautionary as the first had been. This one was…almost panicked. Something was happening that the Force did not want to happen.

Activating the stealth drive on her ship, and being mindful to avoid the rare satalite that was actually maned, she settled the _Ashara_ into a geosynchronous orbit around the planet she closed her eyes and opened herself up to the Force. Once again she felt the urgency in the Force, but no direction. ' _Fine…I guess the light way won't work this time!'_

Refocusing herself, she didn't allow herself to remain emotionless. This time she let her frustration and anger fuel at having been left in a single ship over a year and a half seep in. Her anger and fury to focus her attention within the Force. Slowly the current of the Force began to shape and she saw the planet before her. Pushing her anger to the brink, the vision brought her down to a small island off the western end of the largest section of land on the planet. A small village…children running around dressed in strange clothes and carrying sacks…homes opening their doors to give the children food items…a single section of the village veiled by the Force.

Her vision ended so abruptly while she tried to pierce the veil of the Force that she was physically thrown backwards. "Son of a…" She mumbled picking herself up off the floor. "I guess I found where I'm going then."

* * *

The darkened streets of Godric's Hollow were quiet on the night of Halloween in the year 1991. The children of the small village had all made their runs through the small town collecting candy and well wishes from their neighbors and were now snuggly tucked into their warm beds at home. The adults of the village, all tired from the seemingly endless energy of children with sugar, had retired as well. Only one home in the small village showed any signs of anyone still awake.

Not that anyone in the town could even see the small little cottage of course. For most of the residences were muggles, people without magic, who were currently living in blissful ignorance of the dreadful war that was knocking on their back door. But for those who did have the gift of magic, they could see the dim light that was coming from the main sitting room of the small cottage.

Within the small sitting room sat a single occupant. His elbows braced on the dining table with his fingers under his chin as he watched the small flame of the candle dance before him. For all those who knew James Potter, they would know that his current attitude was definitely outside the norm. He was man who lived life to the fullest and tried his damnedest to make all those around him laugh. He was not the silent brooding type. Which made his current behavior all the odder. But he couldn't help himself. His entire world had just been turned upside down, even more so than when Dumbledore showed up on his door step nine months ago and told him and his wife, Lily, about that damned prophecy.

The source of his brooding was his fifteen month old son Harry James Potter, who was currently sound asleep in his mother's arms upstairs in the nursery. He'd known that his son was special from the moment he first held him. He just didn't have any idea just how 'special' he was until today.

His little man had been sprouting off accidental magic and leaking magical energy like a dam with a leak for several months now. But the icing on the cake had happened just two months ago. Wormtail had been playing with Harry, a very serious game of peak-a-boo, when suddenly Harry stopped his laughing and fixed Wormtail with the little guy's equivalent of a glare. The next thing anyone knew Wormtail was being propelled across the room. He had never demonstrated that amount of power before. Bloody hell…he'd be surprised if many full grown wizards or witches could do what his barely fifteen month old had done.

' _At least I don't have to wonder what the 'power he knows not' is. The kid is just that bloody powerful.'_ James thought running his hands through his hair.

"Brooding really isn't your thing love."

Hearing the soft angelic voice cut through James' grim disposition and brought a smile to his face. Turning his head slightly he saw his wife of a two and a half years standing in the doorway. Her red hair cascading over one shoulder and her emerald green eyes radiating love. "Is Harry finally asleep?" He asked as she sat down next to him.

Lily nodded as she took one of his hands in her own. "Yes, finally. He kept asking for 'Unc Doggy'. I swear that boy loves Sirius more than us James."

James couldn't help but smile at his wife. She still hadn't forgiven Sirius for being Harry's first word. Although that wasn't exactly true. His first word had been 'doggy' but he'd been staring at Sirius while he said it. "He loves you most of all Lily." James said covering his wife's hand. "It's just that Padfoot has the advantage of being able to turn into a dog so Harry can ride him while they play."

"I know." Lily huffed. "Now…what's got you in such a mood?"

James went stiff as a board as he was entranced by his wife's emerald eyes. "I don't-"

"Don't take me for a fool James." Lily said with a definite edge to her voice. "I always knew what you four were up to during school. And don't forget who it was that not only found the entrance to the Slytherin common room, but also figured out how to get in so you four could perform you infamous 'panty raid'. Now, what about Harry's little display of magic has you so worried? Peter was fine after a quick healing charm."

Just as he was about to voice his concern over the prophecy, a single crystal next to the candle on the table glowed blood red and began emitting a low whistle. It was the warning system Lily and he had placed on their wards. Someone had just forced their way through the wards around their tiny cottage.

Jumping up from the table both had wands in their hands and within a split second James was running from window to window trying to find out who breached their wards while Lily ran up to gather their son. James felt his heart stop as he watched a single person clothed all in black with his hood raised advancing on their home. Lord Voldemort had found them.

"Shit," James cursed turning just as Lily re-entered the room with little Harry in her arms. "He's here Lily."

Wrapping one arm around his wife and son, his other went to the small pendent hanging around his neck. Instead of feeling the pull of a portkey they felt…nothing. "Shit." James muttered trying to disapparate the three of them out, only to once again feel like he'd hit an invisible wall and end up nowhere. "They've got anti-portkey and anti-apparition wards up."

Lily held little Harry closer to her chest. "Now what?"

A quick wave of his wand and a small pouch was flying towards the three of them from across the room. Catching the pouch in his wand hand, he plunged his free hand elbow deep into the extendable pouch searching. Closing his fingers around a small metal disk he quickly withdrew his hand. Muttering a mild cutting curse he opened his thumb before pressing the bloody digit against the surface of the coin.

The coins were created by Lily and carried by all members of the Order of the Phoenix. Basically all one had to do to activate them was place a few drops of blood against the surface of the coin and all the other coins would display that person's name. They were meant to be a last ditch call for help.

"They won't get here fast enough." Lily said as she began laying down ward after ward on the cottage's entrance points.

"Then we'll just have to make time then." James said pushing Lily up the stairs and towards Harry's room.

They'd anticipated an attack long before this, so in preparation they'd laid down dozens of wards, both offensive and defensive on Harry's nursery. It was without a doubt the safest room in the house. But this was Voldemort they were talking about. And James knew that a little thing like wards wouldn't be able to hold him back for long.

Just as Lily fully entered the nursery James made his move. The door slammed shut in front of him and he began placing several wards against it to prevent anyone from coming in or out.

"James Potter!" He heard Lily yell from within the room. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Buying you the time you need my love." He mumbled finishing off the last ward and placing his head against the wooden door.

"No! Don't you even think about it James Potter!" Lily screech as the door began shaking. Obviously she was trying to get through to him. "Lower these wards and get in here now!"

"I can't do that love." He said placing a hand against the cool wood. "He just took down all the wards surrounding our house without us detecting it. He even got past the Fidelius charm somehow. The others won't get here in time. This way…I can at least buy the two of you some time."

"No James…don't do this." James nearly broke at hearing her broken plea. "Please…don't do this. I – we need you James. Please…don't…"

"And I need you both to live Lily-love." He said fighting a losing battle with the tears falling from his eyes. "You need to begin placing your own wards from that side Lily. I – I might not be able to buy you much time. You need to hold out until the others get here."

"Please…James…do-"

"I love you Lily." He said steeling himself as he pushed away from the door. "I love both you and Harry more than myself my love. Please…I need you both to live through this. For me."

"Damn it all James." He heard Lily cry through the door. "I love you."

"I love you too Lily-love." Placing his hand against the door. He could almost feel his wife's warmth radiating through the door as she did the same. "Goodbye."

Tearing himself away from the door he made his way downstairs. A quick flick of his wand and another bag was sailing towards him. Reaching into its depths he began pulling out small stones, each of which had been inscribed with a rune, and began laying them in a careful pattern around the room. After he'd laid his traps he settled back into the shadows of the room while casting a disillusion charm on himself. For not the first time he cursed himself for letting Dumbledore borrow his family heirloom. It would've come in handy right about now.

The front door snapped opened with enough force to nearly blow it off its hinges. A figure dressed completely in black ran in right as the door rebounded off the wall. The small stones he'd scattered around next to the door immediately sprang to life. He'd gotten the idea for them after watching a muggle war movie, but he'd never had a chance to use them until now.

The stones, with the help of the runes inscribed on them, transfigured into elongated metal spikes nearly a meter tall sticking straight upwards. The figure in black didn't even have time to react as one of the metal spikes pierced through his foot and thigh toppling him over and onto two more transfigured spikes that pierced his heart and eye.

James was stunned, partly from the brutality of his invention but mostly from the fact that'd they worked. They shouldn't have worked. Not against a wizard of Voldemort's caliber. At best they should've only been able to slow him down for second.

Leaving his hiding spot he kept a weathered eye out for any other movement in the house. A quick flick of his wand and all of the transfigured spikes shrunk back down to their stone form. Kneeling down next to the downed figure in black he rolled him over – and was met with the face of a man maybe only slightly older than himself, but most definitely not Voldemort.

" _Avada Kedavra_."

It was only because of his years of playing quidditch that he was able to move quickly enough to avoid the streak of green light that'd struck right where he'd been kneeling.

Pointing his wand blindly over his shoulder he shouted, "Lumos maxima!"

The tactic was another one he devised after watching a muggle movie. The effect was basically the same as that of what muggles called a 'flash bomb'. Light ten times brighter than the sun flashed through the house. Despite his wand being over his shoulder and clenching his eyes shut tightly he could still feel the heat of the light against his eyes. Not waiting to see if the tactic had worked he grabbed a quick handful of his stones and made a mad dash for the next room.

Once in the next room he leaned back against the wall and took in as many breaths as he could trying to get his heart under control. That was way too close for comfort. "I see that you've decided not to play the 'good guy' this time around Potter." Voldemort's voice echoed through the lower part level of the cottage making James immediately tense up. "You've cost me one of my followers. That isn't your usual style."

Casting a weak sonorus charm on himself so Voldemort couldn't track his voice James waited a moment before responding. "I know why you're here ol' Voldy. You really expect me to play by the rules when my family hangs in the balance? And for your 'follower'…I hope that he meant something to you."

"I don't disapproved of your change of tactics Potter. Far from it in fact. And as for my follower, he served his purpose exposing those traps of yours. But I tire of this game of cat and mouse you and I seem to be playing."

"Aw, I thought you were starting to enjoy not being able to kill me." James taunted trying and failing to pinpoint where Voldemort was in the house. "What are we at now? Three attempts to kill Lily and I and three failures. Your records against you Voldy."

"There will not be a forth Potter. _Expluso!_ "

Had his head been just a few inches to the right the spell would've taken his head clean off. Instead all that happened was a hole the size of his head appeared in in the wall right next to him. Spinning around the corner of the wall he started throwing cutting curses at the black robed figure standing in the middle of his living room. In response the figure began moving quickly casting counter-curses and shielding charms as fast as James could throw the curses.

James caught a lucky break as the figure couldn't quite block one of his cutting curses. The curse cut through the figures robes and the flesh of his thigh stopping only when it reached the bone. The pain of the curse distracted the man just enough that James was able to fire off a reducto curse right into his chest.

" _Diffindo."_

James hadn't even realize that a spell had been cast from behind him until he felt a searing pain coming from his right arm. Glancing down he stared in horror at his right arm, or at least at the bloody stump starting at his elbow. The rest of his arm was laying on the floor, his wand still in hand.

Clutching at the bleeding appendage he dropped to his knees as the loss of blood made him weak. Trying to blink away the spots clouding his vision he tried to think of something that he could do. But no matter what he tried, he couldn't stop looking at what was left of his arm.

Black robes rustled around him as the tip of a wind appeared under his chin and forced him to look up. Blood red eyes set against ghostly pale skin stared down at him. Voldemort's lips curled upwards. "Two of my servants dead Potter. A small price to pay to see you on your knees before me. Maybe if you beg nicely enough I'll make you're mudblood wife's death quick and painless."

Deciding to use his last trump card, James threw the three stones he was holding in his left hand at Voldemort.

Voldemort's eyes widened as he saw the three stones start to transfigure themselves back into the long spikes. Moving with surprising dexterity, Voldemort managed to twist and bend his away out of the path of the now fully formed spikes. Using the distraction James reached for his wand with his left hand. Prying his wand from his severed right hand he wiped it towards Voldemort – and was met with a green bolt of light hitting him square in the face.

* * *

The small nursery on the second floor of the cottage was a picture of tranquility, almost as if there wasn't a major magical battle taking place right below it. Sitting in rocking chair in the corner of the room with her eyes locked on the door was Lily Potter. Young little Harry was wrapped in his favorite blanket dozing in her arms as she gently hummed his favorite lullaby to him.

A tingling feeling coming from her left hand cut off her humming. The small diamond on the engagement decorating her ring finger glowed, flickered, and then went dim. She and James had enchanted their rings on their wedding night. As long as the other lived the small diamonds on either ring would constantly give off a soft glow almost unnoticeable to anyone but the two of them. The light fading from the stone could only be caused by one thing. James was dead.  
She didn't try and stop the tears that fell freely from her eyes. Standing from her seat she walked across the small room and set little Harry down gently in his crib.

The motions must've awoken him as a pair of emerald green eyes opened and stared up at her. "Mama…want dada."

Giving her son a small smile, despite the tears falling, she reached down and gently caressed her son's cheek. "I know Harry." She said running her hand through his hair. "Everything will be alright son, I promise you. I love you so very much son. Never forget that."

Closing her eyes she began mumbling softly under her breath. For months she spent every free hour she had pouring over the few books they managed to save from Potter Manner that focused on ruins and protection wards that could be used to protect her child. Just when she was about to give up her search she ran across one ward that offered some promise. The only problem was the price that had to be paid. But it was a price that any mother would gladly pay.

Finishing the long incantation she used her wand to open a small cut on her forefinger. Using her blood she drew a small circle on Harry's forehead before placing a single dot in the center. The blood almost seemed to seep into his very skin as she finished the ritual.

As she pulled away from him his tiny hands reached out for her. "Mama…want…dada!"

Pulling out her wand she began placing several wards on her son's crib. Hopefully they would be able to stop everything short of an Unforgivable curse. She didn't want to run the chance of hurting her son during the impending fight. "Stay strong Harry." She said giving her son one last longing look. "Remember…mommy and daddy love you very much."

Turning her back on him she turned towards the door to the nursery. Schooling her features she tried to force down the fear that was coursing through her. This wasn't the time for her to be afraid. She had to be strong for Harry and…and for James.

She felt the wards she'd placed on the doorway flicker and fade just before the door slowly slid open. Standing there, garbed entirely in black with his hood raised, was Lord Voldemort. "Lily Potter." His voice was almost like a hiss as his red eyes locked on her and he crossed over the threshold into the room. "Hope you don't mind if I let myself in."

Tightening her grip on her wand she turned sideways slightly trying to make herself as small a target as possible. "Where's James?" She asked keeping herself firmly between Voldemort and her son.

Voldemort's head tilted slightly to the side. "Which part?" He asked mockingly. "He really was pathetic. He begged me to spare him, just before I ended his pathetic life. Now mudblood, I don't normally do this, but since it was asked of me…move aside. I am only here for the child. You need not join him and your husband in death."

What? Someone asked him to spare her? Who among the Death Eaters would want her to be…' _Oh Sevy,'_ she thought feeling more tears start to fall from her eyes. ' _What have you done now?'_

"Well? Are you going to move or not you pathetic mudblood?"

Lily couldn't help but chuckle at the man. "No mother would ever stand aside and let her child die willing. You want my Harry…you'll have to go through me."

Voldemort simply shrugged at her proclamation. "Fair enough mudblood. If you want to die so badly I'll gladly oblige your request. _Avada Kedavra."_

* * *

The village was definitely not something that Nox was use too. And that was saying something considering she'd been across the galaxy and back. The homes were made of wood instead of metal. Flowers, trees, and other sorts of vegetation acted as decorations around their perimeters leaving a clear distinction of where land ownership began and ended. It was…quant. She was sure that the Jedi would think of such a place as paradise. Even she, a Dark Lady of the Sith, could appreciate the beauty of the place. But at the moment…all she could feel was frustration. She could feel the Force all around her. This land was literally singing with it. But more than that…she could feel strong several strong Force presences and pulses in the Force.

Someone…somewhere in this village was fighting using the Force while the majority of the people slept in blissful ignorance. But what was most irritating was the fact that she couldn't isolate where the Force presences were located.

Then for no reason she could decipher there was a shift in the Force. A house that was not there before was suddenly visible to her eyes as the veil of the Force that was hiding it receded. For several moments she just stood there dumbfounded. She could use the Force to conceal her Force presence or make people believe she wasn't even there. And there were stealth generators that could turn a person invisible. But she had never heard of a Force technique that could do both. If such a technique could be applied to a ship…her new Empire would be invincible.

Cloaking her presence with the Force she made her way slowly towards the house. As she approached the wooden fence along the properties edge she could hear the unmistakable sound of voices. Pushing off the ground in a Force-aided jump, she landed lightly onto a tree that was just above the voices she'd heard.

There were two individuals beneath her. One man looked relatively normal for a human while the other was slightly more rotund. Both were Force sensitive. From her advantage point she could tell that the two men were conversing with one another, but she couldn't understand their words at all. But from the tone it was clear that the two men were arguing about something. The common looking one was pointing at the house and gesturing to his arm, while the rotund one was shaking its head and…did the being just chitter like a rodent?

Deciding she'd heard enough she dropped from the tree branch and landed softly behind the two. At first she'd thought to try a diplomatic approach, but that decision was taken from her as the common looking one raised his arm and pointed a…stick at her.

She had only the briefest warning from the Force to duck before a bolt of green Force energy filled with malevolence passed over her head. _'So much for that approach.'_ She cursed, countering the attack with her own Force lightning, sending both men reeling to the ground in pain while simultaneously calling the two individuals sticks to her other hand.

While the two men twisted in pain on the ground Darth Nox calmly examined their 'sticks'. This wasn't the first time she'd seen an object that could channel the Force, there were dozens of ritual stones and even some holocrons that did that as well. But just from her quick observation of the sticks…she could tell that these devices were used to alter and change the Force. They were strange and definitely deserved a second look. And they were also…resisting her.

"Tsk-tsk gentlemen. That wasn't a very polite way to greet a lady." She smirked walking towards the two still twitching figures.

She was surprised the two were even still conscious. The amount of power she'd sent through her attack should've rendered all non-Force sensitive individuals and even some Force sensitives unconscious. "Well now…aren't you two full of surprises."

Walking up to the two men she looked them over carefully. The common looking one was definitely more powerful in the Force. Best to start with him and then move on to the other. Curling her fingers into the man's hair Nox pulled him painfully to his feet. "This isn't my preferred method of learning." She said looking at the rotund one. "But it works in a pinch."

Turning to the common one in her hand, she locked eyes with him. The moment their eye met, the man stiffened and his mouth opened into a wordless scream as she blunt forced her way into his mind. Immediately her own mind was assaulted with the man's knowledge, more specifically his knowledge of his language and the few odd stray thoughts that were at the forefront of his mind. ' _Hmm…a hidden society of Force users…that sounds promising.'_

Without warning the connection between them was severed. "That is why this is not my preferred method." She said slowly trying to get used to the feel of the words passing her lips. The language was slightly similar to galactic basic so it was easy for her to adapt. Releasing her grip the man feel limply to the ground. Blood free flowing from his nose, mouth, ears, and eyes. "There is a limit to how much knowledge can be extracted…bypass that limit…and you destroy the mind of your victim."

Seeing his comrade die in such a fashion broke whatever stupor the rotund one was in and he tried to crawl away from her. "Now not so fast." She said wrapping the man up in the Force and holding him in place before walking over and sitting on his back. "Now…this is what is going to happen. I'm going to ask you a question and you will answer. If you lie, and trust me I will know if you lie, then I will extract the answer from your mind. Only this time I'll be careful…and you will suffer far longer than your friend over there. Understand?"

The man beneath her whimpered, his teeth chittering. "Y-y-yes."

"Good boy," she mocked, patting the man on the back. "Now, what's your name?"

"P-p-p-Peter Pe-Pe-Petti-Pettigrew."

"Well then Peter…how is it that this place was veiled so in the Force and why can I see it now?"

"T-t-the F-Force?"

Slapping her hand to the back of his head she sent a wave of Force lightning through his body making him spasm beneath her. "Did I say you could ask a question vermin? Now answer. Why could I not see this place and now I can? Speak quickly. I can sense others approaching and you can rest assured that failure to answer my questions satisfactorily will result in me extracting the knowledge like I did with your friend."

Beneath her the vermin was shaking almost violently. "It's the Fidelius charm! It – it hides places! Only the secret keeper knows where…"

She could feel the mental anguish rush through the man at the words 'secret keeper'. "So you were the secret keeper for this place." She said rhetorically, smirking as she felt his shock and self-loathing through the Force. "Who was hiding here and why?"

"My friends…J-J-James and L-L-Lily P-Potter…" The vermin wailed. "The Dark Lord was after their new-born son…some prophecy about him being the one to bring the Dark Lord down. And-"

Placing her hand onto the back of his head she forced his face into the dirt to shut him up. So this world had Dark Lords as well. Which meant there were Light Lords as well. ' _More than likely I'll have to destroy both if I'm to claim this world for my own. And what kind of Dark Lord goes after a child? If the child was prophesied to defeat him…then this Dark Lord should've done all he could to help the child survive till adulthood. Good enemies are so hard to come by.'_

"So you betrayed your friends." She stated getting up off of him and kneeling down next to his head. "If there is one thing I cannot stand its traitors. And with so many Force sensitives approaching I guess we're out of time. So…I guess it's time to extract what you know vermin."

As she reached down to him the man's form shimmered violently before disappearing. Where had once been a man there was now a small rodent. Darth Nox was so flabbergasted by the unexpected shift that she could do little more than watch as the rodent ran off through the foliage. She felt the presence shift in the Force once again, then there was an audible crack and the man's Force presence was gone completely.

For a moment Darth Nox just sat there, staring at the spot where her almost victim had been. Then she started to laugh as she got to her feet. "That was unexpected. Few have ever escaped me vermin. And those that do did not survive for long afterwards. You'd better run far vermin. Because once I find you, and I will find you. Your death will be legendary even by Sith standards."

Turning towards the small house she could sense a powerful presence in the Force within, but only one. "Guess that means either this 'Dark Lord' succeeded, or he wasn't worthy of the title." She said shaking her head. "Either way it's no longer my problem."

Turning from the house she made it two steps before she was doubled over. The Force had literally assaulted her with the feeling that she needed to go into the house. "Fine." She cursed under her breath before making her way towards the small house.

Immediately inside the entrance way she found her first corpse. The man was lying face down on the floor but it was obvious that he'd been impaled by multiple sharp objects. But was nothing around that he could see that would make the wounds. Further in the house she found another corpse, this one was blasted halfway through a wall. As she made her way around the ground floor she noticed several view screens on the walls. At least at first she thought they were view screens. Upon closer inspection she saw that they were in fact printed pictures that…moved. And more than that. She could faintly detect the Force within each print. It was an almost ingenious use of the Force but at the same time seemed almost…wasteful. Why not simply use a holo recording?

Of all the pictures in the house the one that made her pause was one that featured a relatively handsome man with black hair, his arm wrapped around a strikingly beautiful woman with red hair. In the woman's arms was a bundle with a small face poking through the wrappings. _'James and Lily Potter I presume.'_

Making her way towards the stair way to the upper level, she found her third corpse. This one however she recognized as the handsome man in the picture. His eyes were completely blank and he was missing one hand. "James Potter I presume." She said kneeling down beside the man and closing his lifeless eyes. "You fought well…killing two before this Dark Lord got to you. Even without a hand you still pressed on. Well fought, James Potter."

Walking up the stairs she honed in one the Force presence, which led her to a doorway that'd been blasted inwards. The room was obviously a nursery. Upon entering she saw a red haired woman lying on the ground, her eyes staring lifelessly up at the ceiling. A pile of black clothes were lying just beside a wooded crib. And within the crib, standing on his feet and holding onto the edge, was a child with messy black hair. The child had a slightly bleeding cut on the side of his forehead and he was crying loudly.

When the child looked up at her, she experienced a Force vision unlike any she'd ever had. Her holding the child as she read to him. Her showing him how to use the Force. A teenage version of him pressing his attack against her, his lightsaber spinning rapidly as she felt pride within her. And lastly him kneeling before her while saying, " _It is done my mother, my Empress. The world is now yours." "Ours…my son…my heir. Earth is ours."_

As the vision cleared, Darth Nox stared at the child. He was powerful…that was for sure. But she could sense…other presences on the child as well. Pushing her Force sight, her eyes widened as she recognized what the other presences were. They were blocks on his power. One of which was extremely light oriented…and the other was undoubtedly dark oriented. Without those blocks…by the Force he would be a match for any Force sensitive individual in history. Including Revan and Vitiate.

Stepping into the room she was forced backwards by a Force push. "Calm yourself child." She said, negating his Force push with one of her own while taking several steps towards him and trying to avoid the woman lying on the floor. "I mean you no harm child."

The child still eyed her warily, but the pressure from the Force receded until it was gone completely. "Mama…ouch…want…mama!"

Moving up to the child, she slowly passed her over the cut on his forehead using the Force to close the wound. Her brow furrowed as she felt…resistance from the cut. The dark presence within the child…it was centered in this cut and was negating her attempts to heal him. With her fingers where touching the child's skin…she could feel a third foreign Force presence. This one wasn't malevolent or benign. It was simply…the Force. Pure and unaltered. And it was wrapping the child up like a cocoon. One that couldn't be sensed until it was far too late.

Racking her brain she tried to think of where she'd heard of such a technique. She vaguely recalled a Jedi holocron that'd spoken of something similar to this. And old Force technique that required one of origin to be sacrificed. But in their death, they made it so their spirit would continue to protect someone or something from whoever killed them. It was an old technique. And quite deadly. To everyone involved save the one that was protected.

Turning to the woman, she knelt down next to her and closed her eyes. "You protect your son…even after death. Well fought young mother."

Feeling disturbance in the Force, Nox sprung to her feet and went over to the child. There was someone in the house…someone relatively powerful. Although how he could've arrived so quickly and without her noticing was beyond her. "It's time to go young one." She said collecting the child into her arms.

The child shook his head. "No! Mama…booboo…kisses…better…mama!"

Lightly caressing his hair, she gave the child a sad smile. "Your mother is gone child. But I swear to you that one day you shall have your revenge. But for now…sleep." With a subtle nudge of the Force the child's head listed back and forth before leaning against her shoulder.

Hearing heavy footfalls thundering up the stairs and without enough time to get out unnoticed, Nox made her way back into the corner of the room and veiled herself in the Force. It wouldn't hide her from view, but unless whoever was coming up looked right at her…they wouldn't notice her.

"Lily!"

The man who charged into the room was definitely more powerful in the Force than the other two that she'd taken care of earlier. The man made. it two steps into the room before falling to his knees, his hands clutching at his slicked back black hair. "Oh god Lily…no…Lily. Why did you fight against him? He promised me…he promised you wouldn't be hurt…god why did you have to fight back."

Standing back in the corner of the room, Nox winced as she felt the waves of self-loathing that were rolling off of the man as he knelt down next to the women and gathered her up in his arms. "This is all because of that bastard Potter!" The man wailed. "If it wasn't for him…you would've been with me…safe from everything."

Taking a chance to leave while the man was distracted she made for the door…and stepped on a section of floor that squeaked loudly.

To his credit, the man had fast reactions. Within a split second of her stepping on the floor, he'd turned and had his stick pointed at her. Unfortunately for him, she was Sith and had learned from her encounter earlier. Before the man had completed his turn, she'd snapped his stick in half and sent him soaring through the air and into the wall. "Unfortunately, I do not have the time deal with you." Darth Nox stated, staring at the unconscious man. "There are others approaching…and I have what I came for."

With the child safely in her arms, she made her way out of the room and back down the stairs. On the base level she paused before leaving. Walking back slightly she lifted the printed picture of the small family from the wall. Turning the picture over she read the writing on the back. ' _James, Lily, and little Harry James Potter.'_

Removing the picture from the frame, she folded it and tucked it under her belt. It would do well to as a reminder for young Harry. ' _Anger is good. Righteous anger will make him powerful beyond measure.'_

With the boy and picture well secured, she used the Force to augment the muscles in her legs and sped out of the house and into the woods as several strong Force signatures converged on the house.

* * *

Just outside the village of Godric's Hollow Sirius Black was lying almost flat against the seat of his enchanted motorcycle as he sped through the air trying everything he could to make his bike go just a touch bit faster.

His night had started out so promising. After months of nagging he finally managed to get Amelia Bones, the untouchable Auror, to agree to go out on a date with him. The two had headed out into muggle London, where he proceeded to show her the joys of a muggle style restaurant and movie. But just as the date was starting to wind down and he was trying to decide whether or not to push his luck with a kiss or possibly more, the coin that Lily had given all the Order members nearly burned a hole through his pants pocket. He was pretty sure his heart stopped beating as he stared down at the name 'James Potter' written clearly across its surface.

With hardly even a parting word to Amelia he'd peeled off down the street towards his motorcycle and took off like a bat out of hell before it could even warm up fully. He would've apparated, but the Order had decided to place a wide range anti-apparation jinx around the small town to prevent any unwanted visitors from arriving right on James and Lily's doorstep.

"Please be alright. Please be alight." He muttered to himself as the lights of Godric's Hollow came into view. It'd already been a fully twenty minutes since the coin had gone off. He only hoped that someone in the Order was closer than he'd been.

After a not so soft landing just outside of his best friend's house, Sirius was off his bike and running for the front door wand in hand. "James! Lily!" He shouted bursting running through the broken front door and tripping over something soft in the process.

After a quick shake of his head he looked back at what'd tripped him up. His eyes widened as he saw the body of a man dressed all in black lying in a pool of his own blood. The same blood that was now staining his own cloths. Scrambling to his feet he let out a sigh of relief as he saw that the dead body was not James. Looking around the room he saw another body, again not James, lying in the center of the living room. "James!" He shouted standing and making his way to the next room. "Lily! Where are yo-"

The words died on his tongue as he came to the stairwell. Laying at the base of the stairs, his right arm separate from the rest of his body, was his best friend of over a decade. "James." He whispered falling to his knees next to his friend.

His eyes were clouded over and his skin was cold it had a blue tinge to it. He'd seen this many times, too many times, before and so he knew exactly what'd happened. His best friend had been hit with the Killing Curse. Reaching out shakily he placed his hand on his best friend's chest. "I'm so sorry James." He whispered to the corpse before standing and looking around. He had to find Lily and Harry. And if they weren't down here…then there was only one other place they could be.

Taking the steps two at a time his heart sunk even further as he noticed the door to the nursery open. Running into the room he instantly fell to his knees and screamed in agony at what he saw. Lily-love was lying in the center of the room. She too had been hit by the Killing Curse.

His eyes shot to the crib looking for little Harry, completely ignoring the bundle of black clothes that lay at his feet. But Harry wasn't there. Taking his wand in hand he held it to his temple and muttered a version of the 'point me' spell while tying it into his godfather's oath. The spell should allow him to see exactly where Harry was as long as he was still close by. At first Sirius could start to feel his godson's presence, but then he was rebuffed by something that sent him staggering and ended his spell.

Shaking his head he brought his wand back up to his temple and tired again. But this time there was nothing. Not even a glimmer of a feeling as to Harry's location.

Cursing, Sirius lowered his wand and looked around for something, anything, which would give him some clue as to where his godson was. When his eyes fell upon the pile of black rags next to Harry's crib, Sirius paused. Taking a few cautions steps towards the pile he kicked at it with his foot. From within the pile a wand fell out. A wand that he recognized all too well. A wand that had personally tried to kill him at least twice. Voldemort's wand.

' _Son of a bitch…how did he get in? Peter was the secret keeper and…oh shit…no he couldn't have…'_ Sirius didn't want to believe it. Peter…he would never betray them. Would he? Sure the little guy was a touch bit nervous as of late. But he wouldn't sell James and Lily out. ' _But then how did Voldemort get in? There is no way to coerce or force the secret from the secret keeper. The magic of the Fidelius charm prevents that. The only way for one to get the secret is for it be freely and willing given. But…Peter wouldn't do that! But…it's been confirmed that there was a spy amongst the Order. Could Peter have truly tricked us all? No…he's not that good.'_

But as much as he tried to deny it, he kept coming back to the same conclusion. Peter had betrayed them all to Voldemort. Turning on his heel he was about to head out and look for the traitorous rat when a low groan pulled him up short. Drawing his wand he look about trying to find the source. What he found was a hole in the wall nearly two feet in diameter leading into what he knew to be James and Lily's room. Looking through the hole he saw a mass of black

Without hesitation, Sirius drew his wand and sent a powerful stunner through the hole in the wall. The red beam hit the black mass dead center and sent the intruder reeling backwards where it fell in a lump on the floor unmoving.

Running out of the nursery and into the master bedroom, Sirius none too gently rolled the back mass over with his foot. "Snivellus." Sirius growled at seeing the unconscious Death Eater.

Going back into the nursery he pocketed Voldemorts wand before going back to Snivellus and grabbing hold of his auror badge slash portkey. "Time to finally answer for your crimes you greasy bastard." Sirius growled grabbing Severus by the hair and activating his emergency portkey.

* * *

Slowing the _Ashara_ slightly Nox made her way around towards the backside of the planet's moon before setting down on its surface. After she'd managed to get out of the house, she'd felt no less than a half dozen attempts to locate her young charge. The first had come just as she was stepping foot into her ship and was so unexpected that she almost didn't get a block up in time. After that, she made sure to keep the child fully veiled in the Force until she was confident they were a safe distance away from whoever was trying to find them. Even if they could still find the child, she highly doubted, given the worlds current state of technology, that anyone would think that he was on the moon.

After locking down the ship she made her way back to where she'd left the child in the med bay. The child was still fast asleep and would remain so until she woke him.

Taking advantage of the situation, she gave him a full medical examination. To her surprise the boy was in perfect health. Not even a slight respiratory infection. After performing a more in-depth examination, she discovered that the boy's body was coursing with a peculiar set of antibodies that seemed to be negating almost all forms of viral or bacterial infection.

Satisfied with his physical condition, she turned to his Force presence. Or rather the two Force presences that were holding him back. The first was actually fairly easy to remove. The light side created block simply evaporated once she'd figured out how exactly it was affecting the boy.

The dark side presence however was something completely different. Unlike the light side block which was solid and stationary…the dark side presence was, for lack of a better word, fluid. Each time she thought she had it cornered, it would escape her grasp. It was almost as if the presence had a mind of its own and was actively avoiding her. Almost as if it were…alive. A spirit. A shade. Not so unlike the protection that was guarding him.

Taking a step back from the infant, Darth Nox rubbed her chin in thought. If the dark side block was some sort of manifestation of this 'Dark Lord'. Then her powers might be able to reach it. But in all of her research on the subject, she'd never come across anyone attempting to use the Force walking ritual on a living subject. But if this block was even partially sentient, then this would be the best way of removing it without risking the child's life or power. She hoped.

"Not really much of a choice." Nox sighed stepping forward once more. "This dark side block cannot remain if he is to obtain his true potential."

Taking a knife from the shelf, Nox pressed the blade to the palm of her and drew it across quickly. Focusing herself, she drew in deeply on the Force, preparing herself for what was to happen. Normally the spirit would draw on her blood to seal the pack. This time, she was creating the bridge using her own blood to Force the boys Force spirit and whatever dark side presence there was within him to the surface. Lowering her bleeding hand, she pressed it against the boys head.

The moment she made the connection between them, she felt herself falling head first before stopping without warning and being surrounded by darkness. But while she couldn't see…she could feel the rapidly approaching Force presence.

Creating a bubble of Force energy around herself, Nox smirked as she felt the presence rebound off her shied before backing away slightly. "The protection…I'd almost forgotten about you. Shade of Lily Potter."

There was no response from the spirit, only a continued relentless assault on her shields. "All spirits are the same." Nox sighed, closing her eyes and calling upon the Force. As soon as she felt the spirit strike her shield again she lashed out, projecting the first part of the Force binding onto the spirit in an attempt to calm it. She could've simply banished the spirit and been done with it. But there was no need to destroy such an effective defense.

The spirits assault ceased and Nox opened her eyes. "You have no reason to fear me, shade of Lily Potter. I am not here to harm your son. I am here to help him."

She could sense the hostile intent of the spirit lessen. "There is a darkness within Harry. Foreign, unnatural. It's restraining him from reaching his true potential. I am here to destroy it. And I'm willing to bet you are trying to do the same but cannot. Show me to it and I will remove it from him." Lowering her defenses slightly, she held her arms out to her sides. "Sense my intent shade of Lily Potter. Know that I mean the child no harm and show me the darkness that plagues him."

She could feel the spirit moving all around her. Its hostile intent had lessened but not dispersed completely. Just as Nox was about to prepare to banish the spirit she felt a shift in the Force and the darkness around her dissipated. Lying just a few feet from her was a small, mangled, humanoid figure that was wailing in silent agony. Chains surrounded the creature holding it in place.

"So you are this 'Dark Lord'?" Nox asked taking a step towards the creature. "No…you are but a fragment of the whole. Huh…a soul anchor. I've only read about these…never actually seen one. Never met a Sith dumb enough to create one. And trust me. I've my fair share of idiot Sith over the years."

Circling the creature, she tilted her head in examination. "A soul anchor is not a new concept to the Sith. But it is a ritual that has been abandoned for nearly two thousand years. It is a flawed ritual that will only lead to your destruction 'Dark Lord'." From its place on the ground, the creature snarled up at her. "You can't even form proper words, can you little creature. Which means that your soul has been fragmented beyond healing. And that you've created more than one anchor."

"I'll let you in on a little secret creature." Kneeling down next to the creature, she placed a finger against the center of its forehead. "While in the normal realm a container for a soul anchor is nearly indestructible…here within the spirit realm that protection is useless. And the soul anchor is extremely fragile."

Pressing her finger harder into its forehead. The creature gave off an inhuman wail of agony as the chains holding it in place slowly began to disintegrate one link at a time. "I'll tell you another secret to these soul anchors 'Dark Lord'. Do you know what fate awaits these fragments of your soul?" Leaning in close she increased the pressure drawing more screams from the being. "Absolutely…nothing. And without a complete soul…you will never become one with the Force. You will simply disappear. Forever."

Giving off one last defiant cry, the creature tried to lash out at her. But Nox simply pressed her finger down harder. The last of the chains disappeared and the fragment shattered like glass.

Standing Nox dusted her hands off. "Are you satisfied, shade of Lily Potter?"

The darkness surrounding her shifted once again. Through the Force, Nox could feel that the darkness surrounding her was…content. "Guard your charge well, shade of Lily Potter." Nox called out while ending her connection between herself and boy. "For the war has only just begun."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Just a quick one here. Once again gotta say that I'm thrilled with the reaction that this story is getting! Favorites and Follows doubled from the first chapter and reviews more than doubled as well! Keep em coming everyone! It really helps to motivate me with writing. For the most part if you ask a question or leave comments or suggestions in your reviews I will try and respond to them.**

 **Just wanted to comment briefly on lightsaber forms as I will be refereeing to them later on in the story with some frequency.**

 **Lightsaber combat forms (All information taken from Wookipedia):**

 **-Form I: Shii-Cho:** **combat was wild and raw, relying on deliberate tactics and being primarily aimed towards disarming rather than injuring foes, in keeping with Jedi philosophy** **(Obi-Wan)**

 **-Form II: Makashi:** **Relying on precision and efficiency, allowed an initiate to defend himself against an opponent with minimal effort, while placing a heavy focus on avoiding disarmament. (Count Dooku)**

 **-Form III: Soresu:** **relied on tight bladework and subtle dodges to provide maximum defensive coverage, minimizing exposure to ranged weaponry** **(Kanan in Rebels)**

 **-Form IV: Ataru:** **An aggressive style, was fast-paced and effective against single opponents, though weaker in prolonged combat and confined spaces.** **(Yoda)**

 **-Form V: Shien or Djem So:** **Both Shien and Djem were designed to use an opponent's attack against them, as evidenced by Shien's focus on returning blaster bolts to their origin and Djem So's emphasis on immediate counter-attacks. Utilizes reverse grip.** **(Ashoka, Aayla, Starkiller)**

 **-Form VI: Niman: Relaxed fighting style that allowed for the incorporation of Force based attacks. Required user to have high creativity in combat. (Sith Lord Exar Kun)**

 **-Form VII: Juyo or Vaapad:**

 **Juyo was described as the most vicious form of** **lightsaber combat** **, and was said to be filled with both fury and "malignant grace." (** **Darth Maul)**

 **The practitioner of Vaapad would accept the fury of their opponent, transforming them into one half of a superconducting loop, with the other half being the power of darkness inherent in the opponent.** **(Created by: Mace Windu)**

 **Good news for those that have requested it…after much planning and re-planning of this story I've figured out a way to incorporate another SW character into the story!**

 **And as for pairings, I'm still welcoming suggestions. Pretty much until they happen it will be up in the air. The romance aspect of this story will be prevalent, but not dominate. (In other words no kiss kiss bang bang every chapter and no adult situations at ridiculously young ages).**

 **One last thing, bashing of characters. To put it simple…I love the bashing of some characters which will be obvious in the story and there are others that I feel get an unfair representation in most HP fanfics. So there will be bashing but on the semi lighter side of it.**

 **Texts style:**

"Normal Speech"

" _Foreign Language"_

' _Inner Thoughts'_

" _ **Holo/Intercom Speech"**_

 **Chapter 3**

"Sirius Orion Black…based on the testimony provided from by in the forms of veritaserum, magical oath, and pensieve memory. We the Wizengamot do hereby find you innocent of all charges. You are released with the courts apologies for the anguish you have suffered and a suitable settlement will be awarded to you in the near future for your wrongful imprisonment. The charge leveled against you for failure to register as an amingus shall be waived as well, citing your time spent in Azkaban. You are free to go. This meeting of the wizengamot is hereby adjourned."

The words spilling from the mouth of the court scribe didn't even register in Sirius's mind until the chains that'd been holding him securely to the uncomfortable chair fell to the floor with a loud clang. He was free. After nearly four months of pure hell he was free. No more chains securing him when he was moved from cell to cell. No more dementor's tormenting him day and night. No more having to relieve himself in a small bucket in the corner of an even smaller room.

It had four months ago when his world had been turned on its head. After finding James and Lily dead with Severus in the house with them and no sign of Harry, Sirius had done what he'd considered right at the time and brought Severus in for questioning. He wasn't even able to take one step within the Ministry atrium before he was hit with at least a dozen stunners. And when he woke up again he was in Azkaban. No trial. No explanation. No visitors. Just straight to Azkaban. Do not pass go, do not collect two-hundred dollars as Lily would say.

After months with no word as to what was going on, a guard came into his and collected him. Again without saying a word. Next he knew, he was sitting before a full seating of the Wizengamot. But it wasn't his trial. No. They'd dragged him out and threatened to let the dementor's have his soul if he didn't tell them where he'd hidden Harry or who he'd given him too.

It'd taken him nearly shouting at the top of his lungs for nearly twenty minutes and a magical oath of his innocence in order to convince the idiots to let him take veritaserum. And even after that they still didn't believe him so he gave several pensieve memories for their viewing. The first was when James, Lily, Peter, and he switched secret keepers. And the second was the night when he'd gone to the Potters home and found everyone dead. After all of that, the wizengamot had no choice but to let him go. But that still did not answer the most pressing question of all. Just where the bloody hell was Harry?

Seeing the one face that could possibly provide him with answers, let alone being the only one he wanted to even see at the moment, Sirius rushed towards the lower edge of the wizengamot chambers and pulled his last remaining best friend into a bone crushing hug.

"Oh god Sirius…I'm so sorry." Remus cried embracing him back. "I – I should've known that you were innocent. I tried to get permission to speak to you. To ask you why. But I was denied at every turn."

Pulling back, Sirius patted Remus on the shoulder. "It's alright Remus, I understand. I really do. But I need you to tell me just what the hell is going on here. Why hasn't anyone found Harry yet?"

Biting his lip Remus shook his head. "I don't know Sirius. They've tried everything they can think of to find Prongslet with no results. No one knows where he is."

"Someone does." Sirius nearly growled. "Let's get that grease ball out here and put him to question. He'll tell us where Harry is."

Again Remus bit his lip and lowered his head. "Sirius…that's not possible now."

"Why? Is he dead?"

Shaking his head, Remus for some reason refused to meet his eyes. "Sirius…after you were arrested the only one who could tell the world what happened was Severus. And with you having Voldy shorts wand on you…Severus claimed that you attacked him at James and Lily's house. That was all the proof they needed…and Dumbledore telling everyone that when he cast the Fidelius charm he made you the secret keeper got you a one way ticket to Azkaban. And Severus…well the Ministry proclaimed him as a hero of the wizarding world for bringing news of Voldy's defeat."

"No." Sirius whispered shaking his head. "No. No one could've believed that! The man was a marked Death Eater for fucks sake! Speaking of which, why the bloody hell were Malfoy and his cronies in their traditional seats and not in Azkaban where they belong?"

"Well…you're not going to like this."

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like a lot of things you have to tell me."

Nodding his head sadly Remus pressed on not allowing Sirius to get a word in. "Malfoy and his cronies have gotten off without charges. They claimed they were under the Imperius curse, and before you say it, don't. As for Severus…he had Dumbledore's backing. Apparently ol' greasy was Dumbledore's spy during the war."

"His spy?" Sirius questioned. "Since when? And what information did we ever get from him? We never once had prior warning to any raid or any information on any of the Death Eater's strongholds. So just what fucking information did Severus ever give Dumbledore?"

"That is between myself and Severus, my boy."

Sirius closed his eyes and counted backwards from ten as he heard perhaps the last voice he could've wanted to at that moment. Unfortunately, closing his eyes didn't make the old coot just disappear. Standing just behind the two of them were Dumbledore and Minister Bagnold. "Headmaster, Minister." Sirius managed to get out with more than slightly force politeness.

The Minister actually flinched slightly at his tone, a feat Sirius considered impressive as the woman was said to be unflappable. But Dumbledore just smiled that irritating smile at him. "Ah Sirius, I'm so glad that we got all of this unfortunate business out of the-"

"Unfortunate?" Sirius growled as Padfoot came through. "You call me being sent to Azkaban for months with no trial 'unfortunate'? How long would I have been left to rot in that hell-hole had you not brought me out for questioning about Harry? And speaking of…how is it that no one has been able to find my godson?"

"This has been a rough time for all of us Mr. Black." Minister Bagnold put in quickly. "I'm sure that your case would've been reviewed soon enough. Now I understand that you are upset-"

"'Upset'?" Sirius chuckled. "You know Minister, I used to get upset when I lost my homework. I used to get upset when I stubbed my toe. I used to get upset when James got a spell right before me. So Minister, if that's upset. Why don't you tell me what I am now?"

"Now my boy, there is no need to be harsh." Dumbledore cut in. "The Minister was merely expressing her regret over this mischarge of justice."

"Mischarge of justice?" Sirius nearly shouted. "If you want to talk about that, then please explain to me why there are known Death Eaters walking about free? And why don't you tell us what exactly it was that Severus gave you that makes him impervious to trial while I was thrown away at the earliest convenience?"

"Please Sirius, you must trust me." Dumbledore continued on. "Severus serves the greater good. Please believe that."

"The discussion of Severus's involvement will be revisited Lord Black, I can assure you of that." Minister Bagnold said stepping forward. "But now, we have other important things to discuss."

Crossing his arms in front of him, Sirius fixed the two of them with a glare. "Like what? Besides Harry."

Pulling a small pouch from behind her, Minister Bagnold went elbow deep into the bag before pulling out a scroll and handing it over to him. "Your father, Lord Orion Black, passed away while you were in prison. He never disowned you nor changed his will. You, Lord Sirius Black, are hereby the Lord of House Black and you now hold the Black Family seat on the Wizengamot. And then there is also this." Reaching back into the bag she pulled out a small metal disk. "I've taken the liberty of hereby reinstating you into the Auror corps with back pay for your time in Azkaban."

Taking the scroll and the badge in hand, Sirius was seriously conflicted. Just a few short months ago he would've done anything to get on these things and wanted nothing to do with the other. But now…

"We need your help Sirius." Dumbledore said as Sirius stared down at the two objects. "With your help we can find Harry and see him safely to his relatives."

"His relatives?" Sirius asked confused. "Harry has no – no. You are not leaving the boy with the Petunia!"

"It is the safest place for him my boy." Dumbledore pressed on. "He will be safe from any remnants of Voldemort's followers. Of course he will have to remain ignorant of the Wizarding world…but it will all be for the greater good I assure you my boy."

Staring at the two people he'd once respected above all others Sirius couldn't believe what he was hearing. Death Eaters walking around free. Harry still missing, and even once he was found he would be taken from him again. Looking down at the two items in his hands, he let out a sigh. He only really had one choice in the matter. "I'll take my seat on the Wizengamot." Sirius said handing the scroll off to Remus before throwing the badge back at the Minister. "And as for that…well going off of the corruption I've seen just now you can take that badge and shove it up your arse Minister."

Both Dumbledore and Bagnold stared at him completely stunned. "Sirius…my boy…"

"I am not your boy Dumbledore!" Sirius shouted. "There is no bloody way that I'm handing Harry off to his relatives once I find him. He will come and live with me just as James and Lily would've wanted. Either you help me find him…or you get out of my way. Either way, we're doing this my way and not yours. Come on Remus, we're leaving."

"My b – Sirius please wait! You must understand that I know what is bes-"

As soon as Sirius felt Dumbledore's hand on his arm, Sirius spun quickly and connect his fist with Dumbledore's jaw. "Ouch!" Sirius yelled shaking his hand even as Dumbledore laid sprawled out on the floor. "Shite…why does that never look like it hurt in all those muggle picture shows? Come on Remus let's get out of here. We stay here any longer with these two and I'm afraid I'll catch idiocy or start growing lead in my arse."

* * *

Sitting in his office, Dumbledore pressed a cold compress to his jaw. How could things have gone so wrong so quickly? He'd been meticulous in all of his planning…thought that everything would turn out right. He even had backup plans in place like the blood wards he created around the Dursleys. But now…James and Lily were dead and young Harry was gone. Sirius and Remus had turned their backs on him. And Voldemort was not gone, despite the wizarding world believing that he was. Everything had gone so wrong.

It all came back to the prophecy. After realizing that the prophecy could've referred to one of two children, Dumbledore had set out to meet both of them. Within seconds of meeting the young Potter heir, he knew immediately that it was Harry whom the prophecy was refereeing too. The sheer amount of raw power the boy wielded was remarkable. The last time Dumbledore had felt such raw power was when he'd gone to visit a young man named Tom Riddle in a muggle orphanage. Naturally he couldn't allow that to happen again. So while he made a show of inspecting the boy, he placed a block on his power that would make him a mediocre wizard at best.

Getting up from his seat, he made his way over to his pensieve. Picking one of the glass vials from the shelf of memories, he poured the silver contents into the bowl before swirling it with the tip of his wand. Leaning over the pensieve, he watched as the figure of Sybill Trelawney took form above the liquid surface. _"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…"_

Stopping the memory, Dumbledore rubbed at his beard. The prophecy in and of itself was not that difficult to decipher. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to see for himself if the Dark Lord had marked Harry or not before the boy seemingly disappeared from everyone, including Voldemort's followers. But it was the next part of the prophecy that concerned him the most. It was what had made him go to the Hall of Prophecy's and destroy the copy the Ministry had. Leaving only one copy. His memories.

 _"Woe to the Lords of Day and Night…for one of the pillars, reborn of everything and nothing shall guide the chosen…and under the pillar's guidance shall the chosen sprout six wings…upon these wings shall the chosen glide…and the world shall break and heal before the chosen's power…the chosen shall be born as the seventh month dies…and balance shall the chosen bring."_

For months Dumbledore had poured over every text he had trying to decipher the prophecy. Just who or what was this 'pillar'. What did it mean by the chosen sprouting six wings? How could one break and heal the world?

Each time he looked into the prophecy he was left with more and more questions. He had hoped to avoid the second half of the prophecy by making sure James and Lily lived and raised their son. Which was why he had suggested that they go into hiding in the first place. Should they have fallen however, he had taken steps to ensure that he would be able to be a mentor to the boy and prevent him from going down the path the prophecy spoke of.

But now…everything was falling apart on him. Without Sirius he only had one last sure way to find the boy. But he would have to wait until Harry reached the age of eleven before he could send out his Hogwarts letter. He could only hope that he would be able to break whatever hold this 'pillar' had on the boy when he came to Hogwarts.

* * *

- _Year: 1999-_

Standing within her tenth floor office overlooking her small 'empire', Darth Nox, now commonly known as Ziri Nox, couldn't help but grin at what she'd accomplished in the past seven and a half years. She'd wasted little time in getting to work after removing the soul shard from Harry. After all, taking over a planet and creating an Empire required meticulous planning. And she was on a very delicate time table.

After freeing Harry from the soul shard she tried to find a suitable place for the both of them to hide. Running back to the known galaxy was out of the question as she didn't have the fuel cells to make the trip. And there were no habitable planets nearby that she could reach either without spending weeks in flight. So she'd turned her attention back to his home planet. The small island she'd collected him from was out. Even with how far they were from their pursuers, she could still feel light touches through the Force trying to find him. The other side of the planet seemed like the best option.

The first thing she'd done after deciding to hide Harry and herself within the landmass known as the United States was to hack into the countries governmental files. Once in she created everything they needed to be considered legitimate citizens. Birth certificates and social security numbers for the both of them. A passport, an independent GED, and a driver's license for her. The last thing she did was create an official adoption form that legitimized Harry as her adopted son.

With all of their paperwork needs taken care of, she began to solve their second issue. Credits.

After spending a few days on the planet's surface she came up with a plan to alleviate that concern. An afternoon's worth of meditation later and she had the winning numbers for four different lotteries in the four areas of the country. Going to each location she bought her winning tickets, each under a different assumed name, and set her winnings to be deposited into separated accounts which would then be funneled into a singular account. Within three months she had accumulated well over nine digits worth of credits. So money was no longer an issue.

Her next course of action was to begin upgrading the technology of Earth. If she was to take her future Empire to the stars, Earth's technology needed to be increased drastically. After purchasing a failing manufacturing company she implemented a design for a power generator. A modification of a Kuat MK-11 fusion power cell, which were the basic power cells that were used to power just about everything in the Empire from blaster weapons to individual settlement homes. Within a year of buying the manufacturing company she was able to introduce the first prototype to the general public. Unfortunately due to the technological limits of the planet, what was roughly the size of a small battery amongst the Empire was nearly the size of large truck here on Earth.

But despite their size each generator was able to produce enough energy to power a home, or if several were grouped together a building, completely independent of natural gas or fossil fuels for a year. She followed up the fusion power cells with solar and wind generators. Each of which could produce enough output to rival even the best coal and nuclear power plants. With the release of the generators and power cells, her little company was hailed as the forefront of clean energy and their sales skyrocketed. With the sudden influx of sales and people looking to invest in her work she began to expand her business using technology, albeit downgraded technology, of the Empire.

Communications, computer hardware and software; she even had her company look into genetically modified foods as a potential business revenue.

Two years after the release of their first fusion generator they were able to release what her engineers dubbed the 'Mark-2 Fusion Cell'. It was amazing what the scientist of this planet could do once she gave them an idea. This new power cell operated under the same premise as its predecessor. Only this one was half the size and could generate one and a half times the amount of energy and could last for roughly a year and a half before dying. Within the next year and half Nox Industries fusion, wind, and solar generators were being sold across the world.

Of course several companies had tried to copy her designs. Unsuccessfully of course. Whether from their own incompetence or the rare few times when she actually had to intervene personally, she made sure that her company was the one and only name in clean energy production in the world. She still remembered the time when her biggest competitor had managed to destroy two city blocks when they tried to boot up their own version of a fusion generator. They at least had the sense to make sure to do it in a relatively unpopulated area. But the fact that they had caused the death of twenty people had pretty much put the nail in the coffin for them.

But what she'd unveiled the previous day made all of her other accomplishments in the business world pale in comparison. Before a dozen Senators, five generals, and the Chief of the General Staff she showed off her company's two latest and greatest 'invention's'. A fully functional ion cannon and a fully functional blaster cannon. Watching the faces of the Generals and Senators as the ion cannon fired off a concentrated blot of ionic particles that completely disabled all of the electronical systems of what it hit, and only what it hit. And then the glee on their faces as they watch the blaster cannon tear through the best vehicle armor available like it was paper was priceless.

The only drawback to the two weapons was that both were far too large to be carried by infantry. And that they were also specifically built to be run on her company's power cells alone. But the ion cannon's range made it a value addition to any artillery unit. And the fact that the blaster cannon could be mounted on any tank, battleship, or aircraft definitely made up for their size. Now all she had to do was wait for the Senate to agree to the military contact and her company would be able to expand three fold. And more importantly, her company would be able expand into the areas where she could have direct access to the military. Which was vital for her long term plans.

"Mother, I think I've got it this time."

Turning away from the window, Nox felt herself smile. Of all her accomplishments, it was the one sitting at her desk at the moment that gave her the greatest sense of pride. Her son, Harry. No matter what task she assigned to him, he completed it without a second thought or complaint. And often times, the more challenging her task was, the more the boy excelled. He reminded her of herself when she was but an Apprentice. Minus the torture sessions she'd both administered and received. The boy was truly a gift from the Force.

After she'd successfully removed the blocks on the boy's powers, his powers skyrocketed. Almost to the point where she considered placing a block back on him. By the age of two he was unconsciously lifting and moving objects with the Force. By the age of four he was able to do it consciously and deliberately. By the age of seven he was able to lift the equivalent of one Muntuur stone and hold it for nearly a full minute. And his power only grew with each passing year. She'd also drastically changed how she taught the boy. She'd decided that she would not allow the Sith tradition of the Apprentice destroying the Master to continue. That was definitely one area where she would give the Jedi the edge. The infighting of the Sith had pretty much destroyed the old Empire. It was highly possible that more Sith were killed by other Sith than by Jedi during the war.

Harry's gifts weren't limited to just the Force either. Harry had an almost freighting level of intelligence. And after she'd showed him a few Force techniques to better absorb knowledge…he had a nearly unquenchable appetite for reading and learning. Already at the age of nine her son was doing what this world considered university level mathematics, science, and engineering. She'd even gone as far as hiring private tutors who were considered experts in several fields to tutor her son.

She had also decided to build up her son physically. This world had a deep martial arts tradition that would make even the Mandalorian's jealous. Wanting her son to be the best, she had hired private instructors in the arts of Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Krav Maga, Hapkido, and fencing. Each day of the week he practiced with a different instructor, each of whom claimed that even at his young age he was true natural in their chosen art. Of course she wasn't completely absent in her son's physical training. She made sure to spend at least one day a week going over the seven lightsaber forms as well as the Echani arts.

"Let me see."

Taking the paper she read over his answers. After seeing how far advanced her son was compared to the current educational standards of the planet, she had decided to home school him. Checking over his work, she took the pen from his hand and made a correction to one of his answers before handing the sheet back to him. "You were close. But you see here on this one. You're missing a water molecule in the beginning of the reaction. Without that you would create an unstable compound."

Leaning over his work, Harry stared at the paper, his tongue sticking out from between his lips. "Oh! I see…so it needs to be like this?" He asked quickly correcting his mistake.

"Yes." Nox grinned ruffling his hair before taking out a new sheet of paper and writing down a series of equations. "Now solve these and you can be done for the day."

"Yes mother."

 _ **"Ms. Nox?"**_

Turning her attention away from her son, Nox pressed down on her intercom. "Yes Madeline, what is it?"

 _ **"Ma'am, Senator Doran is here to speak with you regarding yesterday's test."**_

Nox stared down at the intercom blinking in confusion. ' _They couldn't have decided so fast. Sure the weapons were impressive by Earth standards. But these Senators drag their feet through even the most basic of issues. They're worse than even the Galactic Senate. No. He's here for some other reason. The testing is just his excuse.'_ "Send him in right away Madeline."

 _ **"Yes ma'am."**_

"Is everything alright mother? I sense that you're…uncertain?"

Turning to her son, she ruffled his hair. "There is no way the Senate could've made a decision this fast. No. Our Senator is here for another reason. One that I sense will not bode well for us should he have his way."

Biting his lip, Harry looked up at her with wide green eyes. "What are we going to do mother?"

"For now, we play his game." She said rubbing his shoulder. "When he shows his hand…we change the rules of the game and turn the tide."

"What do you want me to do?"

"For now, just sit back and watch and learn my son." Leaning over she pressed a light kiss to the top of his head. "If and when I need your help I will let you know. But for the moment, consider this a good learning opportunity."

As she began standing upright the door to her office opened. Senator Doran was a man who had passed his prime by nearly a decade or more. His hair was completely white and he had more than one wrinkle marring his face. And the man was positively oozing self-satisfaction. In one hand he was holding onto a thick folder so tightly she could see creases forming in the paper. "Senator Doran." Nox greeted with false politeness. "How good to see you again. I wasn't expecting to hear back from the Senate for at least another week or more. There was nothing wrong with the test was there?"

"No, there was nothing wrong Ms. Nox." The Senator said casually. "In fact, quite the opposite. I believe we had to get a crowbar out to get General Wilson away from that ion cannon of yours."

Forcing a smile onto her face she wrapped an arm around Harry. "Well, I do aim to impress. Have you met my son Harry? Harry this is Senator Jim Doran."

Looking up at the man, Harry gave the Senator his best 'innocent' smile. He was getting far too good at that. "Nice to meet you sir."

"You too young man." The Senator said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Calculus? That's quite advanced for a boy your age."

"My son is very gifted Senator." Nox cut in. "But perhaps we can get to the point of your visit? I am a very busy woman and time is money after all."

"Quite right Ms. Nox." Senator Doran said handing her the folder. "I believe that you will find the contents very interesting. As would quite a few others."

Opening the file, Nox got as far as the second piece of paper before shutting it again. For the past two years she had been quietly buying up the shares of her rival companies. Not enough to initiate a hostile takeover. But enough so that she was wall within reach of doing so. "And what do you think you have here Senator? I've done nothing illegal."

Shaking his head, the Senator took a seat across her desk from her. The smug feeling he had upon entering had only doubled and now she could also sense…lust. "No, you're quite right. Nothing that you've done individually is illegal. After all, hostile takeovers happen all the time. But when one looks at the big picture, then it becomes troublesome for you."

Dropping the folder onto the desk she fixed the Senator with a flat stare. "And what is the 'big picture', Senator Doran?"

"You're creating a monopoly, Ms. Nox. Several of them. All I need to do is show this folder, which details both your private and public shareholding ventures, to the Senate and you'll find yourself in the midst of a Congressional Hearing. And if that happens, you can forget about the military contract. Hell, you can forget about your company. By the time the Senate is done with you; your company will be dissolved, your shares re-allocated, your son would end up in a foster home, and you at best would end up a carpet licking bitch to some big Bertha in a federal prison."

Pursing her lips, Nox walked over to the small serving tray in her office. Pulling the stopper off of one of her decanter's she poured herself a small glass of bourbon. She wasn't nervous, not even in the slightest. She was merely putting on an act to make it look like she was stalling. And based off of the feeling of victory she was sensing from the Senator. She'd played her part well.

"Seeing as how we are having this conversation here and not in front of a congressional hearing, I take it that you are about to ask something of me."

"You're right." Senator Doran said smirking. "There are two things that you will do for me. Do them both and this file will disappear."

"Name them."

Going over to the serving tray in her office, the Senator took his time pouring himself and drink before answering. "First…you're going to fund my Presidential campaign in 2000. Second…well the public loves family man running. But unfortunately I'm single at the moment. So you're going to be my trophy wife and your son will be my stepson to the public eyes."

Nox stared at the man for a moment before laughing out loud. "Oh, that was a good one Senator. I haven't had a good laugh like this is some time."

"It wasn't a joke Ziri." Senator Doran growled. "You will pay for my campaign and you will be my good little doting wife. Oh, and you're going to step down from your position and let me appoint someone I trust to oversee your company. Do this and the file will be gone. Don't…and you better get used to being big Bertha's bitch."

Shaking her head, Nox finished off the last of her drink. "Well Senator…I must say you surely know how to make a girl feel special. Blackmail, threats, and a marriage proposal. I must say…your idiocy surprises even me."

Slamming his glass down on her desk hard enough to shatter it, the Senator glared at her. "I'll give you a week. And don't even think that you can get away with trying to make me have an 'accident'. I'm a Senator of the United States. Your life would be over. Good day."

"I think not." Nox said without any trace of humor. "Have a seat Senator. We're not done talking yet."

"No, we're done." The Senator said picking the file up off her desk and turning towards the door. "If I don't hear from you in a week, then this file hits the Senate floor."

"Harry, escort the Senator to his seat and make sure that he stays there."

The Senator was one step away from the door by the time Harry lifted his hand. And then as if he were a puppet master, Harry guided the Senator back towards her desk before forcing him to sit down in the chair across the desk. "Very good Harry." Nox congratulated her son as the Senator's wide eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.

"You – you two are more of those frea – ah!"

Nox smirked as Harry's eyes hardened and the Senator's jaw closed so quickly that his teeth probably cracked under the force. "Now Harry," Nox cooed. "Be careful. As satisfying as it would be, it would be hard to explain why the Senator was suddenly missing several teeth."

"Sorry mother." Harry apologized ducking his head slightly.

"No need Harry, you've done well so far." Looking back to the Senator, she could sense his fear. "If you're wondering why your guards haven't come in yet, it's because I've alter what their minds think they are seeing. Right now all they see is you, my son and myself sitting here talking causally. Oh, and this office is completely sound proof so feel free to scream your head off if it will make you feel better. Harry dear, loosen his jaw. I actually want him to talk."

"You freaks!" The Senator shouted the moment his jaw was loose enough to do so. "I'll see to it personally that the Federal Magical Bureau has the both of you thrown in whatever hell hole prison your kind has!"

Raising her own hand, Nox reached out with the Force and grabbed hold of the old man's heart. "You feel that?" She asked pulling slightly making the man cry out. "That is your heart pressing against your ribs. Now you will shut up. Harry, I believe that this is the perfect opportunity for a lesson in one of the many uses of the Force. And we have a volunteer which will make this even easier. Now come stand in front of our volunteer. And you can let go of him, I have a firm hold right now."

"Yes mother." Harry said, getting up from the desk and walking around so he stood in front of the Senator.

Moving up beside him, she laid her hands on his shoulders and leaned down so her lips were next to his ear. "Now you remember when I taught you how to use the Force to 'persuade' an individual? Good. Today we will be extracting information from an individual. The two processes are similar, yet very different.

"Just as you do with the 'persuade', you will use the Force to open the mind of the individual. However unlike with 'persuade', this technique requires you to push further into the mind. With his mind open, they become susceptible to any question that you ask. Even if they don't voice the answer, they will think it. But with you in their mind, it forces the thought out. Now, enter his mind Harry. There is some slight discomfort on your subjects part, but remember that this man wanted to force you and I into a form of slavery. Allow this thought to fuel your rage and funnel that rage into his mind."

Facing the Senator, Harry's eyes narrowed in concentration as he placed his hand just before the Senator's face. The Senator met her son's gaze unblinking. Then his face twitched. Then his lips turned downwards into a frown as his forehead wrinkled. Soon he couldn't keep up the charade of indifference and he grunted in pain. "Good son." Nox congratulated, patting her son on the back. "Now pose your question. Ask him who gave him the information. And remember, you must keep the pressure up otherwise the answer won't come forth. And some minds are stronger than others…so don't be afraid to push harder if need be."

Pursing his lips, Harry's eyes narrowed even further in concertation. "Who gave you the information?"

The Senator grunted, but kept his mouth firmly shut.

Feeling the anger start to course through her son, Harry push out harder with the Force. "Where did you get the information?"

"…J-Jim…S – S…Smith…." Senator Doran breathed out in pain.

The moment they had the name, Harry stopped his assault and fell back slightly.

Nox was right behind him the moment she felt him let go. "Easy son." She cooed holding onto his shoulders. "That technique is very draining and difficult. I'm actually impressed that you managed it."

Harry smiled widely as he leaned into her. "Thank you…mother."

Keeping her arm around him, she pressed the button on her intercom. "Madeline."

 _ **"Yes ma'am?"**_

"Would you mind terribly taking the rest of the day off? I'll pay you time and a half for the day if you take my son out for ice cream and then take him home and watch him. I'm afraid I'll be at the office till late."

 _ **"I can do that ma'am."**_

"Thank you Madeline. Oh, and can you also have head of security Greyson please bring Mr. Jim Smith up to my office after the Senator leaves?"

 _ **"Will do ma'am. Let me just finish up a few things here and I'll be ready to go."**_

"Come Harry," Nox said leading Harry around the dazed Senator and towards her office door. "Now listen to Madeline. When you get home I want you to go through your meditation exercises and then practice Soresu and Djem So."

"Yes mother, I love you." Harry said walking up to the closed door.

"I love you too son," She said leaning over and placing a light kiss on top of his head before opening the door for him. "Now be good for Madeline. I should be home before its time for your nightly meditation."

Closing the door behind her son, Nox turned back to the Senator with a wicked grin. "Now there Senator…where were we?"

"You – you can't kill me." Senator Doran gasped, still struggling against the invisible binds that were holding him down.

"Kill you? Oh Senator don't be so naïve." Nox chuckled before sitting down across the Senator's lap. "Just killing you would require a complete and utter lack in creativity. No. First I'm going to block your memory of what happened here and replace it with a false memory. Then…I'm going to destroy you so completely that the only option you'll have left when I'm done with you is to eat a bullet."

Weaving her fingers into his hair, she clenched her fist and pulled back sharply forcing his head back at a painful angle. "Prey to whatever gods you believe in Senator Doran. It's the only thing you can do now."

An hour later, Nox was once again staring out the large window in her office. Only this time she was watching as the Senator's car drove away. ' _The fool. Thought he could control a Darth…how pathetic. I've met novice Sith with great manipulation skills than him.'_

Hearing a steady knocking on her door, she turned just in time to see it open allowing her head of security and a mousy little brat wearing an oversized suit coat into her office. Despite the fact that the Senator and Greyson were the same age, her head of security definitely carried his age better. No doubt a side effect of his previous, and current, occupation. "Ms. Nox, I've brought Mr. Smith as requested."

"Thank you Greyson," she said moving to sit behind her desk. "Tell me, Mr. Smith…why do you think I asked to speak with you?"

The mousy looking man shifted his feet nervously as Greyson closed the door, shutting the three of them off from the rest of the office. "Um – um no ma'am. I – I hope I haven't done anything wrong."

Steepling her fingers, she rested her chin on her thumbs. "Do you know why I hired you Mr. Smith? It's because I could sense your ambition. I thought you could've done great things for this company. But it seems that you've fallen into the typical trap most ambitious people fall into. Your ambition overruled your common sense."

By the time she finished speaking the boy was visibly shaking. "Ms. Nox…I – I –"

"Senator Doran just left my office Mr. Smith." She said quickly cutting him off. "He had some…rather interesting information on him. Imagine my surprise when I was staring at my own stock portfolio. Including the several that I keep out of the public eye. Now tell me, Mr. Smith. How do you think he got a hold of that information?"

"Ms. Nox…I swear to you that – that –"

Slapping her hand down on her desk hard enough to crack the hard wood surface she glared at the man before her. "Stop that at once. You're not nearly that nervous so stop sputtering and stop lying to me worm."

Instantly the man's shaking and stuttering ceased. "Fine. It's not like what I did was illegal anyway. Not compared to what you're doing. And the worst that you can do is fire me. Not that I really care. The position the Senator offered me was well worth it. You see…I'm the one that's going to be running your company soon."

Leaning back in her chair, Nox let out an amused sigh. "Ah, as I said. Your ambition has overruled your common sense. I'm afraid the Senator just left my office with nothing more than a handshake and a promise that he would have the military contract signed off on at the earliest possibility. Oh, and he left my office with no knowledge what so ever of my stock options."

Leaning forward once again, Nox was almost giddy at the crestfallen and confused expression that was came over man's face. It had been a long time since she'd had the opportunity to destroy someone's 'well thought out' plans. The sheer thrill and excitement at the helplessness that always crossed their faces. Almost better than sex. Almost.

"Well – umm, I guess that-"

"Do you understand what it is I'm trying to do here, Mr. Smith?" She asked cutting him off. "I'm creating an Empire Mr. Smith. One that is slowly spreading across the world. And if I'm to succeed, the one thing that I cannot have is traitors amongst my ranks. Which means Mr. Smith…that I am terminating your contract permanently."

Smith looked back and forth between herself and Greyson for a moment before he started coughing. The coughing slowly turned into choking. Soon Mr. Smith was on his knees, his fingers digging at his throat as they tried in vain to remove the invisible force that was choking the life out of him.

"Greyson." Nox called out calmly as she used the Force to slowly choke the life out of the traitor. She wouldn't grant him the mercy of a quick death.

"Yes ma'am?" Greyson replied calmly, as if there wasn't a man choking to death right next to him. This was why Nox loved bounty hunters, or mercenaries as they were called on this world. They didn't care what happened around them as long as they were paid well.

"It appears that Mr. Smith here was a closet sexual deviant." She said adding just the slight bit more pressure to his neck. "A fact that he managed to hide well. Which was why we were all so surprised that after failing to report to work for a few days, he was found in his apartment dead from autoerotic asphyxiation."

Greyson smirked. "Yes ma'am. A real shame. The kid had potential and a good future all lined up for him here at Nox Industries. Such a shame he had to go in such a humiliating manner. I doubt the family will want it looked into too closely lest they find other things that they'd prefer not to know."

Nodding along, Nox applied just the slightest bit more pressure. Mr. Smith's eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he fell face first onto her office floor dead. "Very true, Mr. Greyson. See to it that the story is believable. You'll receive your normal clean up rate as well."

"Yes ma'am. Always a pleasure working for you."

* * *

Sitting in the muggle airport, Sirius Black was seriously starting to think that the muggles had developed this whole 'airport' idea as a form of torture. After glancing down at the ticket in his hand, he looked back up at the picture board that kept changing. Spotting the number that matched his ticket, he groaned. His flight had been delayed. Again. For another four hours.

For not the first time he wondered why he hadn't just taken an international portkey to the United States. ' _Because the American Ministry still haven't forgiven the British Ministry for inciting the Salem witch trials.'_ Sirius thought, answering his own question. ' _But anything has to be better than just sitting in this blasted 'airport' waiting for my plane.'_

Running his hands through his shoulder length black hair, Sirius groaned as he thought about how he'd come to be in this situation.

For the past seven years he'd been hunting for his lost godson. And for the past seven years he'd failed. For the first two years after tell off Dumbledore and the Minister he'd tried every ritual he could think of, even some of the darker rituals that required Remus and himself to stay secluded in the Black Family library for a month or so to no avail. Hell, he'd even gone to several Seer's over the years. But all they could tell him was that he was alive, but a black cloud shrouded their visions of him.

After he'd exhausted every magical option, he'd hit the road. Literally. Every chance he had to take a break from the Wizengamot, or whenever he could get Remus to act as his proxy, he went all over the world trying his best to locate his godson through his godfather's oath. But even that was a move made in desperation. The oath would allow him to sense his godson, but only if they were within a hundred kilometers of one another. And considering how big the world was…it was like that old muggle saying Lily had. Like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. Only this was more like trying to find a needle in a hay stack, in a barn, while blindfolded.

After five years of fruitless searching he'd just been about to give up and make contact with Dumbledore again when he started to have…dreams. He'd never been one for Divination, having decided to take Runes and Arithmancy instead. But the dreams he'd been having seemed like visions. They were never very clear. But they were always of Harry. Or at least he assumed the boy he was seeing was Harry considering he looked just like James when he was younger. But three weeks ago one of his dreams were clear enough for him to see Harry, an American flag…and people playing the muggle sport American football.

He'd told Remus about the dream pretty much as soon as both men were awake. Of course Remus was more than a little skeptical. Which was understandable as Sirius had never shown any inclination what-so-ever towards Divination. But Sirius just had this feeling that what he saw was true. That Harry was alive and that he was in America. Which, conveniently enough, was one of the few places they'd yet to check. And due to the bad history between the two Ministry governments…it was pretty much next to impossible for a British witch or wizard to get an international portkey to the US. Which meant traveling the muggle way.

But the moment he'd set foot in America, Sirius had run into his next problem. He had no idea where to go next. He'd checked up on American football stadium locations…but that wasn't going to help him. There were thirty-two different professional American football stadiums, not to mention there were well over two-hundred university level teams. He'd end up putting a serious dent in the Black fortune and not to mention lose years of his life before he managed to check them all. So in the end he did the only sensible thing he could. He closed his eyes and picked a city at random.

' _Maybe I should just start walking.'_ He thought rubbing his head. ' _Might bloody well be faster than just sitting here waiting. Or maybe there's a decent pub nearby. Merlin knows they've got every other store in this bloody place.'_

Picking up his only piece of luggage, a small brief case that had numerous compartments fitted with expansion charms, Sirius walked down the long hall trying his best to avoid the few nearly running muggles. After ten minutes of constant dodging, he finally found a small restaurant that had a bar near one wall. Picking one of the empty seats, he settled in before setting his brief case down in the chair next to him.

He didn't have to wait long before the barman noticed him and came over. "What can I get for you?"

What he really wanted was a shot of fire whiskey, but realistically the chances of that happening were the same as spotting a dragon walking down main street. "Dark beer, whatever you have on hand."

"Coming right up." The bartender said taking a glass and placing it under a spout. "From the UK?"

"Yeah."

"Long way from home." The man said topping off his beer and sliding it over to him. "2.50$. What brings ya to the states?"

"Looking for someone." Sirius replied taking a five out of his wallet and passing it over. "Keep the change."

Pocketing the cash the bartender moved on to the next customer leaving Sirius alone. "Excuse me, is that seat taken?"

Looking up between his fingers, Sirius saw a younger muggle man pointing towards the seat next to him that was currently home to his single suit case. "Nope," Sirius said picking up his suitcase and setting it down on the floor. "It's all yours."

"Thanks." The man said taking a seat and pulling out a muggle newspaper. "You don't mind do you?"

"Not at all." Sirius said focusing on the muggle picture box as the man next to him opened his newspaper.

For a while Sirius was content to just leave well enough alone. But he was getting bored quickly. The muggle picture box wasn't showing anything interesting and the beer he had wasn't all that great either. On a passing glance he looked over the front page of the man's newspaper and blinked. Then blinked again. Then a third time just to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Excuse me," he said catching the man's attention. "Would you mind if I had the front page there?"

Removing the page, the man handed it over to Sirius. "Sure, knock yourself out."

Taking the page from the man, Sirius stared down at the page. Or more specifically the large picture dominating the front of the page. The woman in the picture was attractive enough. But it was the young man standing next to her that caught his attention. If he didn't know otherwise…he would've sworn that he was looking at a miniature version of James Potter.

"Prongslet." He breathed reading the caption below the picture. " _International business woman Ziri Nox and her adopted nine year old son Harry James Nox (Potter)."_

Downing the rest of his beer quickly, Sirius hoped to his feet. "Do you mind if I keep this?"

The man stared at him for a moment before shrugging and handing over the rest of the paper. "Sure. May as well take it all. I've already finished it anyway."

Giving the man his thanks, Sirius picked up his briefcase and practically sprinted the nearest ticket booth. He needed to change his ticket immediately. After nearly eight years he finally had a lead. ' _I'm coming prongslet. Just hang on a little while longer.'_

* * *

Standing next to the slow moving creek, Harry was doing his best to keep his body straight up and down as he stood on his hands. About a year or so ago, the two of them had stumbled across this small creek area while they were out on a walk through the woods. The moment his mother saw it, she instantly declared that this was a perfect place to train. The place was so secluded that if you didn't know it existed, you wouldn't be able to find it.

Closing his eyes, he reached out with his senses. "Very good Harry. Reach out with Force, let it guide you. Remember, the light side of the Force is about letting the Force guide you instead of trying to dominate it. Very good Harry. Now…lift your right hand."

Using the Force to strengthen his left arm, Harry slowly lifted his right until it was sticking straight out from his side. "Very good Harry." His mother congratulated, but Harry was doing his best not to allow her praise to affect him as he maintained his concentration. "Now, lift the rock and balance it on the other."

Lifting the rock, which was roughly slightly larger than his head, Harry guided it over the secondary rock and slowly set it down until the two were just barely touching. As he did so, he felt his arm start to tremble and sweat started to run freely down his face. "Concentrate Harry. Trust the Force to aid you. Hold your position. Concentrate."

Harry held on as long as he could. But eventually his arm gave out and he just barely managed to tuck and roll before his body hit the ground followed quickly by the rock that he'd been balancing. "Well done son." His mother congratulated him as he lay panting on the ground. "You've managed to last for nearly two minutes."

Rolling over, Harry pushed himself up off the ground before facing his mother. "You can still last a lot longer than me."

"I've had a lot more practice than you my son." His mother laughed before sitting down cross legged on the ground. "A lot more. But that's enough for today. Let's get in an hour meditation before heading home."

Sitting down next to her, Harry closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. For as long as he could remember, his mother had been training and teaching him how to use his both sides, the dark and the light, of this power that she called the Force. Some days they would focus on one aspect or another while others they focus on both. Today was a day when they were working solely with the light side of the Force. And while he enjoyed exploring both aspects of the Force…it was times like these that he cherished the most. Just him and his mother sitting together in silence with only each other's presence as company. Whenever they trained while focusing on the dark side, it often involved a lot of running and dodging while his mother threw things at him.

As they sat there in silence, Harry felt a slight shift in the Force. He didn't need to open his eyes to know that his mother was now floating several feet above the ground while still maintaining her perfect posture. A feat he had yet to obtain. "And you won't unless you quiet your mind my son."

Feeling slightly abashed, Harry shook his head and tried to clear it once again. "Sorry mother."

"Don't apologize son. Just calm your mind and open yourself to the Force. Let it guide you."

Taking several deep breaths, Harry let go of this thoughts and opened himself fully to his surroundings. With the Force aiding him, he could hear the wind pass through the trees, the animals scurrying about that called the forest their home. The low growling of – "Mother watch out!"

Leaping up from his spot, Harry tackled his mother to the ground just in time to see a black blur pass overhead. Rolling to his feet, Harry pivoted into a fighting stance with his hands raised ready to fend off whatever creature had just tried to attack him. What he was met with was the largest black dog he had ever seen in his life. But what truly threw Harry off were the emotions that were radiating off the creature. Joy. Anger. Confusion. Self-loathing. And a deep sadness.

"Are you alright mother?" He asked not taking his eyes off the large dog.

"Yes, I was wondering how long it would take you to notice this dog's presence. A split second longer and I would've had to intervene."

Harry, and the dog, both looked at his mother in confusion. "You could sense him?"

One of his mother's delicate eyebrows rose. "You doubt me Harry? He's been watching us since we got here. I think that he likes you."

While Harry was listening to his mother, the dog had managed to sneak up behind him and was now nudging his hand with his nose. Kneeling down in front of the dog he began scratching the animal behind the ears. Harry laughed slightly as the dog leaned into his scratching and his tail began wagging so fast his entire back end was moving. "There's no collar on him mother…I think he's a stray."

"Then best be careful Harry." His mother said coming up beside him. "No telling what kinds of diseases this beast might be carrying."

At that the dog growled lowly at his mother. "I don't think he liked being called beast mother, did you boy?" Harry asked chuckling slightly as he continued to scratch the dog. "Mother…for some reason…I feel like there's something familiar about this dog. But it's…elusive. I can't tell what it is but I – I don't know."

"Something…familiar. Hmm." Kneeling down beside him, his mother stared at the dog for a moment before turning back to him. "Well then, seeing as how you can't tell what this feeling is. I guess the best choice would be to take him home until you do figure it out."

Harry felt elation and confusion burst forth from the dog. "I think that he likes that idea mother." Harry laughed as the dog seemingly nodded.

"Just make sure you take good care of him Harry." His mother said rising to her feet. "I would hate to have him…neutered if he becomes too unruly."

Under his mother's cool gaze the dog literally backed away slightly, tucking his tail between his legs and sitting down. "Hahaha, I think this dog is smarter than he lets on mother!" Harry laughed before looking at the dog again. "Although I guess I can't keep calling you 'dog' all the time. Hmm…how does Snoopy sound?"

The dog shook his head quickly, little bits of drool spraying everywhere. "Okay…how about shaggy-dog? Yeah, that works perfect for you!"  
The dog didn't seem too happy with his new name, but nodded none the less. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Harry looked up at his mother. She was smiling. An actual genuine smile of amusement. "Come on Harry. We need to get you home so you can shower and change. You have lessons in less than an hour."

Springing up to his feet, Harry stretched his legs for a moment before facing his mother. "So we're going the fast way?"

"Yes. Do try and keep up son. Oh, and don't lose your new pet. Would hate to have to come out here looking for him."

And with that his mother took off into the dense forest at a full sprint with Harry less than a few paces behind her and shaggy-dog struggling to keep up with the both of them. They'd set this path up several weeks ago. It was full of fallen and tilted trees, half walls, and ditches. If it was something that could slow them down or force to detour from the path, his mother put it in.

Without breaking stride, his mother vaulted over the first fallen tree before sliding feet first under the next. Harry, not quite used to using the Force to augment his physical body while moving, had to slow down slightly before following her movements. Shaggy-dog…just ran under the both of them.

After nearly half an hour of running, jumping, sliding, and rolling the three of them were at the edge of the forest. Harry was bent over trying to regain his breath while shaggy-dog had collapsed as soon as they were beyond the trees. His mother predictably enough, looked perfectly fine. The only evidence to their run was a slight gleam of sweat across her brow.

A hundred yards from the tree line was a large manner house that he and his mother called home. His mother had bought it seemingly on a whim. But she said that it was nice and secluded, the nearest neighbor being no less than a mile or so from them. Which would allow them to more freedom in Harry's training.

"Well done Harry. A minute quicker than last week. Your powers are growing. Now come, let's get inside so you can wash up before your lessons. And take your new friend with you to your room. He can stay there till you return."

"Yes mother." He said standing upright. "Come on shaggy-dog. Let me show you our room."

Leading his new friend into the house, Harry passed through several mostly empty rooms before heading up the stairs to his room. "Mother isn't one for furniture." He explained to shaggy-dog as he waved his hand around his room, which contained a large four poster bed, a dresser, a nightstand, a closet, and a door leading to his own bathroom. "But this is home."

Going over to his dresser he began pulling out the clothes he would be changing into after his shower. On his way to his bathroom thought he found shaggy-dog sitting beside his nightstand staring at the lone picture he had on it. Coming up next to the dog, Harry knelt down and gently pet his head. "They're my birth parents." He said looking at the picture of the dark haired man and redheaded woman. "James and Lily Potter."

The dog's head whipped around so fast Harry was worried that it would just keep right on going. "They died the night my mother rescued me. They were betrayed by one of their friends." He continued, petting shaggy-dog but keeping his eyes on the picture. "Mother told me that a dark lord as his followers tracked them down and killed them. She even killed one of them men that attacked them. Soon I'll be strong enough. And then mother will take me back to my home so I can avenge them both."

Giving shaggy-dog one last pat on the head, Harry headed for his bathroom leaving his dog who was just sitting there staring at the picture of his birth parents. For not the first time, Harry felt there was something different about this dog. Something that he felt that should know. But for the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was. "I have to shower and change. One of my tutors will be here soon. But you can stay here in my room until I get back."

* * *

Laying on the bed within Harry's room; Shaggy-dog, or Padfoot, or Sirius Black as he was more commonly known, was more than a little troubled. After nearly eight long stressful years he'd finally found Harry! His long search was over. But now he was faced with a new dilemma. Just what the bloody hell did he do now?

He always assumed that once he did find his lost godson, the poor boy would either be a slave or completely brainwashed to his heritage. But that wasn't what he'd found. Harry was…happy. Little prongslet obviously cared a great deal about the woman who'd abducted him all those years ago. A fact that wasn't necessarily unexpected. But what he wasn't expecting was to find that Harry had a picture of James and Lily in his room. And that his adopted mother encouraged his remembrance of them!

And speaking of the woman…she was another oddity in and of itself. After finding the two of them by that stream and deciding to watch for a while, he had to pick his jaw up off the ground as the woman casually taught his godson a ridiculous amount of magical theory and wandless magic.

While wandless magic wasn't necessarily unheard of, the theories behind it and its use was pretty much restricted to Family magic's. And even those were limited to just a few little tricks that only the Head of House could perform. As Head of House Black he now knew a few little wandless magic tricks of his own. But to watch Harry, his nine year old godson, hold himself up on one hand while using the other to lift a bolder…bloody hell it was humbling. He doubted that even Dumbledore, or Voldy'shorts could do that in their prime.

So now he was left in a quandary. What the bloody hell did he do now? His godson was happy. Loved. And being taught magic that Sirius could never even dream of understanding. And what was worse, or best depending on how you looked at it, Harry was well aware of just who his parents were! So just what was he supposed to do now?

"Now Mr. Black, we continue as before. The only difference now is that you will be able to interact with your godson."

Sirius froze as his eyes slowly turned towards the door to Harry's room. Even with his animal hearing he didn't hear the door open or the woman step into the room. But none the less, there she was. Harry's adopted mother. Ms. Ziri Nox. Standing just within the door and looking down at him with her slightly glowing green eyes.

Crossing her arms under her more than slightly impressive chest, the woman began tapping her foot on the floor. "Now Mr. Black. Are you going to revert back to your human form so that we may have a normal conversation, or am I going to have to force the change out of you? I would hate to harm you after all the trouble I went through just to get you here."

 _'Oh shite…'_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Very short one this time. Just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed/alerted/favorite this story so far. Thank you all so much! It really helps me to write having such support. If I didn't get to replying to your review please forgive me. There were a lot of them I'll try better!**

 **And once again, I encourage everyone to leave review! Whether it be critiques (please be polite), suggestions, thoughts, encouragements, questions, whatever have you I am open to them!**

 **Hope that you all enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think!**

 **Chapter 4**

For several long moments, Sirius just laid there hoping that he'd heard her wrong. ' _No. She can't know. No one can tell an animagus without the help of spells to reveal them. But…oh shite she's still looking at me.'_

The woman let out a low sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Come now Sirius Black. There is no need for hostilities. Not that you would stand much of a chance. Transform and let us speak face to face. I would hate to throw you out of here and have all the effort I put into getting you here be for naught."

Deciding to take a chance, Sirius leapt from the bed covering half the distance between them while shifting back into his human form. In the time it took most people to blink Sirius was had crossed the distance between them and had his wand held up to her face. "Who are you?"

The woman didn't seem to be at all phased to be at the end of his wand. "I am Ziri Nox, Mr. Black. As if you didn't already know. That was nicely done by the way. Good moves, quick reflexes…there was just one problem with it."

Clenching his teeth he pressed the end of his wand against her cheek. "And what's that?"

The next thing he knew, his wand had been ripped form his hand and he was sent spiraling backwards over the bed. Despite having the temporary advantage, the woman didn't press her attack. She just stood there twirling his wand between her fingers and waiting for him to stand back up. "Your mistake was that you didn't take the shot when you had the chance, Mr. Black." She stated calmly tossing his wand back to him. "Now you have a choice. We can either continue like this, which will only lead to humiliation for yourself. Or, you can put your stick away and we can talk like civilized people."

Picking up his wand, Sirius held it loosely as he considered his options. He could try to fight her. Although he had a feeling that wouldn't end well for him. She'd just blown him clear across the room and summoned his wand from his hand. And all of it windlessly without uttering a word. He'd be hard pressed to do anything against her. And then how would he get little prongslet out? He doubted Harry would just go with him after he'd beaten the figure he looked up to as a parent. So, with little option left, Sirius sheathed his wand into the holster under his right wrist.

"Very wise." The woman, Ziri, said moving back towards the door. "Come. Let's continue this in my study. My son will be busy for the next hour or so. And while I doubt our discussion will take that long. It would be more than a little awkward explaining why I'm speaking to a stranger in his bedroom."

Without having much choice in the matter Sirius followed the strange woman out of the room. As they walked Sirius's mind was racing. ' _How did she do that? I didn't even hear her cast a spell. Can I even defeat her? Her back is turned and I'm not against shooting someone in the back if they're better than me. But even if I did…would Harry come with me? Shite, does he even know who I am? Maybe I could go and get the Aurors and come back? Strength in numbers must count for something.'_

"Stop trying to plot my demise Mr. Black. It would only end poorly for you."

"What?" Sirius asked shaking his head. She couldn't have read his thoughts? Could she? No. His occlumency barriers were in place. There was no way she got in without him at least feeling her. Right?

"Wrong, Mr. Black." She said stopping before a set of double doors and turning to face him. "Your mental barriers are quite impressive I must say. But you're practically shouting your feelings. Right now I'd actually have to try _not_ to sense them."

Sirius had to give himself a mental shake as the woman opened the doors revealing a lavish office. Following a few paces behind her Sirius began reinforcing every mental barrier he had. Although he began to doubt whether or not what he could do would be enough. If this woman was skilled enough to pick up the surface thoughts of a skilled occlumencer…then what else could she do?

Moving behind her desk the woman pour two glass with a light brown liquid that he recognized as muggle liquor before taking her seat and pushing one over towards him. "Now then. I believe that I should explain why I went through all of the trouble to get you here Sirius Black."

Sirius eyed the drink on the desk warily. No way was he about to drink something offered to him by the woman who kidnapped his god – wait. "What do you mean, all the effort you went through to get me here? I found the two of you on my own!"

The woman just laughed. "Oh Sirius, I'm going to call you Sirius from now on so I hope you don't mind. Mr. Black is just too stiffy for my tastes. But as I said, you didn't just find us on your own. I've been able to keep Harry and myself hidden for the past seven years despite the success of my company. So do you think it was pure luck that you managed to find us? No. I led you to us."

When Sirius refused to comment the woman sighed and put her glass down. "Don't believe me? Fine then. About six months ago you started to have vague dreams about Harry. Dreams that showed him as he is now. Not as how you remembered him." That made Sirius start almost violently. How could she have known that? "Broadcasting dreams is a very difficult ritual. Especially if you do not have continuous contact with the individual. So I hope you appreciate the effort had to go through in that regard. Although towards the end there I felt as if I would have to hit you over the head with my first clue in order to get you into the states.

"Then there was the man who sat next to you at the airport who just so happened to have a newspaper with a picture of myself and Harry plastered across the front page. Quite the odd coincidence wouldn't you say? Especially seeing as how I've managed to keep Harry out of the papers for over seven years."

Sirius was starting to have trouble keeping himself still. No. This just wasn't possible. He found them on his own. But then…what were those dreams. And how could she have known about all of it? Just who was this woman?

Clearing his throat, Sirius managed to get out the one question he'd been waiting to as for years. "Why?"

The woman, Ziri he reminded himself, looked at him curiously. "Why what?"

Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, Sirius shot the woman his best glare. "Why did you take him? You had no right you bitch! He was my responsibility!"

Unfortunately he didn't have nearly as tight of hold over his emotions as he'd hoped. He hadn't even realized he'd stood up until he found himself towering over her with his wand pointing right in her face once more.

The woman didn't even seem phased. Before he could even get one syllable out she waved her hand and he was forced backwards into his chair with his wand once more being ripped from his grip. Sighing, the woman placed his wand on the desk. Sirius had no idea what spell she'd just cast. But it was almost as if she'd put a sticking charm to his chair before forcing him into it.

"That's twice now that you've tried to attack me Sirius. And twice that you failed to capitalize on your opening. I will not be gracious and allow a third. Harry's godfather or no."

' _Damn it Sirius, stop acting so Gryffindorish for Merlins sake! Think of Harry!_ ' Forcing himself to relax, Sirius met the woman's gaze once more. "You still haven't answered my question woman."

The woman's face didn't even flinch at his tone. Merlin's balls…it was like he was talking to a stone wall. "My name is Ziri Nox. Not bitch or woman. You may call me Nox. Most everyone does."

"Just answer my question." Sirius growled. "Why did you take Harry?"

Leaning back in her chair, the woman took a slow drink before answering. "My people are rather…unique I guess you could say when it comes to our usage of the Force. That which you call magic. And don't bother trying to find others like me. We are rather reclusive in this…area. And you won't find one unless I'm with you. Our understanding of the Force, magic, grants us…visions and feelings I guess you could say. It was these visions that led me to Harry's home the night his parents were killed. After discovering both dead, I was actually going to leave the young man behind when I received another vision. This one telling me that I needed to raise Harry and teach him the ways of my people. For his sake more than mine. So I took him with me and raised him. Safely away from those who would either use him or see him dead."

After the woman was done, Sirius just sat there staring at her. "How do I know that you're telling me the truth? You could be one of Voldemort's flunkies who ran away with Harry after he killed your Master."

The silence that met his statement hung in the air for all of two seconds before the woman started chuckling. Which soon escalated into a full blown bent over roaring laugh. "You think that I would follow a fool like that? Don't be naïve." Shaking her head, the woman took her time in calming herself before looking at him once more. "In the end Sirius, the two of us can go back and forth all day with this topic. You accusing me of stealing Harry, or being a dreaded 'dark lord' big bad boogey man. And I could talk until I was blue in the face trying to explain why it is not so. And if there is one thing I hate more than anything, its pointless circular discussions. So tell me. What would it take to prove that what I say is the truth? Besides allowing you to take Harry which will not happen."

The selfish part of him wanted to shout out definitely that nothing would convince him that she was telling the truth. And that she truly had Harry's best interest in mind when she took him away. But another part of him recalled how happy Harry was. How he knew who his parents where. How this strange woman who'd taken him away had provided a great life for him and was teaching him magic far beyond his comprehension.

Burying his face in his hands, he rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "Why? After nearly eight years…why contact me now?"

"Truthfully Sirius, I didn't even know you existed until a year ago now."

A soft thud against the desk brought his head up from his hands. Staring up at him from the desk top was a picture of his own face. "You'd be amazed at how difficult it is to keep in touch with your 'wizarding world'." Nox continued as Sirius looked down at the paper. "This was the first paper that I managed to secure…and what do I find but the godfather of my son vowing vengeance against the one who stole his godson."

' _Could she be telling the truth?'_ He pondered, staring down at the paper. ' _Could this all just be a simple misunderstanding? And…I guess that she's done alright by Harry…but…I don't know-'_

"Mother! Are you okay? I felt a – mother…who is this?"

Sirius whipped around in his seat. Standing just within the double doors was Harry. Even though he'd just seen his godson no more than a few minutes prior, he was still struck stupid. The boy looked so much like James. Only with Lily's eyes.

"I told you that I was working on finding someone to help us for when we returned to your home land no?" Nox asked from behind him. "Well, here he is."

Standing up from his seat Sirius took a few hesitant steps towards his godson. When they were less than a few feet apart he knelt down so the two were eye to eye. "I – I know you." Harry said hesitantly, looking over his shoulder at the woman. "How do I know him mother?"

"My name is Sirius Black. And you know me because I'm…" Merlin this was harder than he thought it would be. "Because…I'm your godfather Harry."

When Harry didn't respond, Sirius gave him his best marauders grin. "Well…you might not recognize me like this…how about this?"

Taking a slight shuffle back for room, Sirius transformed into Padfoot. Harry took a step back, turning his body sideways. Sirius had to blink twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But…that was the same type of stance they taught to Aurors when they knew a fight was imminent. After a moment though Harry's eyes widened in recognition. "Shaggy-dog?"

"Not quite." Sirius said shifting back to his human self. "Your father named me Padfoot. But you used to call me-"

"Unc' Doggy." Harry finished for him as his green eyes gaining a far off look.

Sirius couldn't help but be surprised. "Yes…I was best friends with your father growing up." Unable to resist he tried to reach out to Harry, only for his heart to break a little as his godson took a half step away from him. "Merlin…you look so much like your father. Only with your mother's eyes."

Closing his eyes, Harry turned his head away from him. "I – I remember." Harry said suddenly, startling Sirius who was about to break down. "You…you would always be in that dog form and you would let me ride you around my birth parents' house."

"Yes…but how could you-"

"My people have a way or recalling memories long thought forgotten." Nox's sudden appearance by his side nearly made him piss his pants. How in Merlin's name did she get so close to him without notice? "I've been teaching Harry many mind arts. Protection, sensing…and recall. Harry has unfortunately not been able to access some of his earliest memories. Until now that is. I knew all that he needed was a trigger."

Opening his eyes Harry stared back and forth between the two of them. "I remember him mother." He said excitedly, but then he frowned and his voice became slightly frantic. "You're…you're not here to take me away from mother are you?"

Sirius winced at that. Mostly at the hurt in his godson's voice at the prospect of being taken away from her. "Harry I-"

"No!" Harry shouted running past him and into the woman's arms. "I don't want to leave mother!"

Sirius couldn't help the hurt he felt. The boy he loved and had been searching for years for had just pushed by him and ran towards a total stranger. "Harry." The woman cooed kneeling down. "That was not polite. Mr. Black here has come a long way to meet you. And he isn't here to take you away either. Now apologize to him."

Harry's eyes were slightly red as he turned to face him. And Sirius knew that his own eyes were tearing up as well. "I'm sorry…Mr. Black."

For some reason that hurt even more than when he'd run past him. "Please…call me Sirius. And I guess…Merlin's balls. Are you happy Harry? Here. With he – your mother?"

Harry nodded. "Yes Mr – Sirius."

In the end…that was all he wanted. "You…you wouldn't mind if we maybe spent some time together…would you?"

Harry looked up once at the woman before looking at him. "Okay..."

"Wonderful." Nox said standing. "Harry, why don't you show Sirius your room and around the manor? I'll dismiss your instructor so don't worry. Take the rest of the day and reconnect with your godfather. I have a few things to finalize with work. But I'll be joining you two for dinner."

"Yes mother." Harry said, but then he looked uncertain. After a brief moment his godson held out his hand. "Let me show you around M – Sirius."

Taking his hand, Sirius felt himself smile his first genuine smile in years. "I'd like that Harry."

* * *

Watching the two of them leave her office, Nox let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding. She was taking a risk her. A big risk. Not of Sirius running off with her son. No. The Master-Apprentice bond between the two of them was deep enough now that she was pretty sure she could find him half way across the galaxy. No. The risk was trusting Harry to convince this man to trust them.

She hadn't lied to Sirius. She knew that there was no way that she could ever convince the man that what she had done had been for the benefit of Harry. And herself of course. She doubted that anything short of summoning the ghosts of Revan, Shan, and Marr would be able to convince the man. And she couldn't just simply dominate his mind like she wanted to either. No. They needed to make and ally out of Sirius Black. Not a slave.

No Sith, no matter how powerful, had ever remained in power for long without a solid power base. They already had a solid base within the non-Force sensitives. But they had nothing amongst the Force sensitives. Through Sirius they would create this power base. And they couldn't do that if he was a slave. So it was all down to Harry to convince the man to join them.

So in the end…it all fell to Harry. If her nine year old son could convince his godfather to join them, then they would gain a powerful ally within the Force sensitives and the foundations for their powerbase. If he failed…well there were always other options. But it would require slight shifting of her plans that she was hesitant to take.

She'd already planted the seeds that would lead to the ultimate end game. And she had multiple contingencies in place as well in case something went wrong. But all of those would require significant reshuffling and a reorganization of her time table. Something that she was loath to do. ' _I'm placing my trust in your my son. This is your first true task. Make me proud.'_

' _Yes mother.'_

* * *

With one hand on the wall for a brace, Sirius made his way groggily down the hall towards the sound that'd woken him up at this un-Merlin hour of the morning. After two weeks here he thought that he would be used to it by now. But he wasn't. And obviously his hosts weren't used to having guests in their house or didn't know silencing charms. Hearing the steady smacking getting louder, Sirius made the last turn into the room that'd been converted into a large dueling arena.

In the center of the large room stood Harry and the woman…Nox. Both of them were holding onto wooden swords and facing off against one another. Harry was completely covered in sweat while Nox…she didn't even appear to be breathing hard.

Sitting down against the wall, he refocused on the two just in time to see Harry launch himself in a spinning flip over Nox while swiping down at her. With hardly any effort Nox blocked his attack and kicked backwards sending Harry spiraling to the ground before his feet could touch.

It took no small amount of effort on Sirius' part to stay sitting. He still remember the first time he'd interrupted their morning sparing session. He'd come in just as Nox wacked Harry on top of the head. Of courses his sense left him as soon as that happened. And he'd sent off the first spell he could think of at her. The woman dodge his attack and retaliated by throwing her wooden sword at him. Which ended up hitting him right upside the head effectively knocking him out for a few minutes.

Harry refused to speak to him for half the day after that little incident. It took him begging on his hands and knees to Harry and issuing a more than slightly grudging apology to Nox in order for Harry to forgive him for attacking his mother and interrupting their sparring session.

After that one little misunderstanding, he was allowed to sit in on all the training sessions that Harry was going through. And Merlin save him was it a lot. Most of which went over his head. Muggle science and mathematics. Physical exercise. Wandless magical practice. Magical theory. And hours and hours of mediation. It took him nearly the entire first week to realize how the two even managed it all every day. It was simply that neither seemed to sleep much. Harry seemed to only sleep for four hours or so. But he would wake up as if he'd been sleeping for half a day or more each morning rearing and ready to go.

As for Nox…she slept even less. She was always awake after Harry would go to bed and would be awake well before either Harry or he woke. And she didn't even seem the slightest bit phased at the lack of sleep either.

As Nox blocked and countered another attack from Harry, this time sweeping his legs out from under him, Sirius was glad he'd been cross his arms. Less chance of him drawing his wand on reflex. He understood that Harry wanted this. But Merlin was it hard. This was still the same woman that had taken his godson away and hidden him for years. Even if she had done right by him…that was not something that was simply forgiven overnight.

"You must press your attack when using Ataru Harry," Nox said, picking Harry up off the floor. "This is an aggressive form Harry where constant movement is your ally. But if you hesitate when your opponent blocks they will be able to counter you easily."

Stretching out his arms and legs, Harry nodded. "Yes mother."

"You're doing well Harry." Nox said ruffling Harry's hair. "Far better than I at your age young man. So keep your head up. But I see your resident 'dog-father' has arrived. So I guess it's time for breakfast."

Rising from his spot, his heart sped up slightly when Harry smiled in his direction. "You're looking good prongslet." He said walking up to the two of them. "I've never seen anyone move like that. It's good practice. Even if this form of dueling has long since gone the way of the dodo."

"Has it now?" Nox asked in manner that made Sirius realize he was going to regret say it. "Perhaps a practical demonstration then? I've been itching to test myself against a wizard or witch."

After giving Harry a light pat on the back, Nox walked over to the far side of the room and stopping before a seemingly random section of wall. As she raised her hand, Sirius could hear the unmistakable wound of gears turning before the section of wall drew back from the rest before moving off to the side. Behind the wall was a shelf that was holding four long narrow boxes. Opening one of the boxes, Nox removed a long curved metal cylinder before turning back to him.

"Now then wizard." Nox said with a confidence that drove Sirius nuts. "I'll put this on the training setting for now. I would hate to accidently remove one of your limbs."

Drawing his wand from his sleeve, he gave Harry a pat on the back. "Go stand off to the side Prongslet. Time to show your 'mother' what I can do."

Harry spared him on last look before moving off to the side. "Please don't hurt him mother."

"I'm not the one that you need to worry about Harry." Sirius said cockily, drawing his wand and facing off against the woman.

Nox merely raised one delicate eyebrow before twitching her wrist. With a snap and hiss a red beam of light extended from the end of the cylinder. Stopping only once it had extended for a meter out. The newly extended blade was two toned. The center was black while the outside was red. Sirius felt himself swallowing nervously. ' _A sword…but how in Merlin's name is it maintaining its shape?'_

Twilling the blade around her a few times, Nox settled into a stance holding the blade in a reverse grip and behind her. "I'll be generous Sirius. You can have the first shot."

Not wanting to hurt the woman, too much, he fired off a stinging hex. Okay…maybe he overpowered it a little. Which was unfortunate…for him.

With a causal flick of her blade, his spell bounced off her sword and with the accuracy that would make any beater proud, sent it right into his bits.

"Not so outdated now…is it Sirius?" Nox asked, holding her glowing sword above her head and angled downwards.

Upgrading his spells, he fired off three stunners in rapid succession. Two were knocked away and the third was sent right back at him making him drop to the floor to avoid it. Scrambling back to his feet he eyed Nox wearily. ' _Okay…direct casting is working…then how about this!'_

After firing off another stunner he apparated behind her before firing off another trying to catch her from both sides. His first was deflected by her and his second…his second she caught in his bare hand and threw off to the side. "Not nearly good enough Sirius." The woman taunted. "If this is truly the best you can do…then it truly is for the best that I didn't leave Harry to be raised by someone as ineffectual as yourself."

Something deep within Sirius snapped. Snarling he fire off two cutting hexes, one high and one low, before apparating around behind her and throwing an expelliarmus charm her. When the charm hit her blade he saw it vibrate in her hand for the briefest of moments before she tightened her hold. Seeing his chance, he pressed his attack, throwing one disarming charm after another at her. With each he saw her grip get weaker and weaker which then forced her to start dodging instead of just blocking.

Seeing which way she was moving, Sirius threw a blasting curse at the floor beneath where she was moving towards. Her calm face flickered slightly as the floor exploded from under her, sending her into the air where he fired off another disarming charm. This one forcing her sword from her hand while she was still in the air.

His victory was short however as the sword hilt stopped in midair and shot back towards Nox. With the dexterity of a skilled seeker, the woman snatched the hilt out of the air without looking making the blood red blade spring back to life. "There it is. The emotion that I've been looking for." Sirius had to blink. She sounded…happy. "It's been so long since I've had a decent fight…but now it's my turn. And I know your tricks."

With speed that no human should poses, Nox crossed the spaced separating them almost faster than he could follow. He could feel the heat of the blade passing over his head as he just barely managed to duck in time. He was able to get off one more counter spell, which he evaded, and then he was put on the defensive Nox unloaded a relentless assault at him. The only thing that saved him was his brief training as an auror and quick apparition jumps. But no matter where he went, or how unpredictable he tried to be, Nox was right on him forcing him to roll, jump, or outright run away.

After one last apparition jump, he turned and found her jumping through the air, her blade ready to strike. Acting on instinct he threw up the strongest protego spell he could muster. Her blade impacted and bounced off the shield giving him a moment of hope. Until she raised her empty hand and shot some sort of powerful blue lightning spell that he couldn't identify. His barrier wasn't shaken by the spell. No. It was completely disintegrated.

He couldn't even marvel at her power before he felt something invisible slam into his chest, knocking him hard into the far wall. Gasping for breath after the impact, he searched for his wand…but instead found the tip of the red blade underneath his chin. Looking up the length of the blade e found himself looking into Nox's green eyes. But…there almost looked to be a tinge of yellow around the outside of her iris.

"Adequate." She said as her blade disappeared into the metal cylinder. "You have much potential Sirius. Even more so when you let your emotions power your techniques. Yes. With more training you may even one day become a moderate match for me."

Groaning more than slightly, Sirius managed to get up onto his own two feet without help. "Thanks…I think."

Nox gave him a curt nod before turning and motioning for Harry to come over to them. Sirius felt a little bit better at the worried look his godson was giving him, but Sirius waved him off. "I'm alright pup. Had worse against the Death Eaters years ago."

Harry blinked at that and Nox looked at him curiously. "Death Eaters?"

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. The followers of Voldemort, the Dark Wanker. They called themselves 'Death Eaters'."

"You see Harry, this is why I said we needed contacts in your home world." Turning away from them, Nox made it a few paces towards the exit before stopping and facing the two of them. "Harry…go to your room and start packing. Our flight is scheduled to leave in tomorrow."

Harry looked quizzically at Nox for a moment before his face brightened. "You mean…"

"Yes." Nox nodded. "It is time for us to return to your homeland. I'm sure that your godfather here wouldn't mind putting us up until we find a place of our own."  
Sirius blinked. Then smiled. Harry would be returning to Britain. With Nox of course. But at least little Prongslet would be…wait. "Wait! I didn't say I would put you up! Don't go offering my house all willy-nilly like that!"

Nox raised one eyebrow at him. "Where you planning on turning us away?"

"Well…no of course not."

"Then there is no need for discussion." Nox smirked turning her back on the two of them. "No go pack the two of you. We have much to do today still and we're set to leave early tomorrow morning."

"Yes mother."

"….Yes ma'am…"

* * *

For Harry the past few weeks had been a complete whirlwind of emotions. At first he wasn't sure what to think about his godfather once he showed up. Especially after he interrupted a sparring session between his mother and himself. This man was a stranger to him. A stranger that his mother asked him to befriend and get to trust them both. But at the same time…his memories from his childhood that'd slowly resurfaced with his arrival was battling against his unease. His memories told him that he did know this man. That he should trust him. That in a way he should love him as much as his mother. It was confusing.

But after the first couple of days…Harry began to enjoy the man's company. His mother never had guests over. Men or women. Ever. It was always just the two of them. So having someone else was a nice change of pace. It also helped that the man was actually quite funny as well. And he could tell stories of his birth parents. Something that he treasured.

Of course duel just before they left the states between his mother and Sirius had been at the same time worrying and educational. He worried about both of them. His mother more so. But in the back of his mind he was worried about Sirius getting hurt as well. But his worry was far overshadowed by the awe he felt. Both his mother and Sirius were amazing!

He always knew that his mother was amazing. Whenever they spared he knew that she was hardly even trying. And because of that he'd never seen her go all out even slightly. And Sirius…well he knew about wizards and such but he didn't know what they were capable of. So seeing what a wizard could do and seeing his mother actually have to try slightly was amazing to watch. It also reaffirmed everything that his mother had been teaching him and made him want to learn more from her. And from Sirius as well. Using both types of Force…Harry was almost giddy with the prospect. And he desperately wanted to learn how to teleport around like Sirius did.

The whirlwind just kept coming too, as after the duel his mother calmly stated that they would be heading back to his homeland with Sirius.

He'd been happy with his life in the States so far. But there was just something about returning home…he'd never been so excited before in his whole life!

After their plane landed in Britain he got his wish regarding the whole Force teleportation thing that Sirius could do. Which was why he was now on his hands and knees in some back alley emptying his stomach of what must've been three days' worth of food.

"Just breathe pup. It will pass soon. This happens to everyone their first time. Well…almost everyone."

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Harry looked up at just who _didn't_ have the same experience. While his mother looked slightly paler than usual. That was the only outward sign she showed.

"Well…that was interesting." His mother said making him scoff.

Interesting didn't quite cover it in his opinion. What just happened had been; interesting, disturbing, dizzying, slightly painful, stressful…and somewhat pleasing when he'd been surrounded by the Force.

Finally coming up for air, Harry peered around. The street and surrounding area didn't look any different from any other non-Force sensitive city that'd he been in before. He could sense…something with the Force. But for the life of him he couldn't figure out what.

"You're home." His mother stated looking around curiously. "It is hidden in the same manner as the Potter home. Isn't it? The Fidelius Charm I believe the little one called it."

Sirius looked quite surprised that his mother had figured out something. "Well, yes. Yes its." Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it off to Harry. "Here you go pup. Now read what that paper says and think on it."

' _Sirius Black lives at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. What does that…whoa…that's awesome!'_

The moment he read the words on the slip of paper Harry felt a not so slight shift in the Force. When he looked up, the space between residence numbers 11 and 13 began to widen in clear defiance of every law of physics Harry knew. And within the newly created space was residence number 12. "That's awesome." Harry breathed completely awe struck.

"Interesting." His mother said as she too read the note. "Tell me Sirius. Is this ritual limited to a fixed location or can it be placed on a moving object?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Sirius said scratching at his short cut beard. "The requirements is that it must be a location that someone calls home. And that the Secret-Keeper cannot be the person who owns the residence. I guess in theory it's possible. But no one has ever tried it that I'm aware of."

"Sirius. If one of the requirements to this…thing is that the Secret-Keeper can't own the house. Then who is your Secret-Keeper?" Harry asked tearing his eyes away from the house.

Sirius opened his mouth and then closed it. "Umm…his name is Remus Lupin. He's another good friend of your father and uhh-"

"And you didn't tell him that we were coming. Did you?" His mother asked rhetorically.

"Um…well that would be a no." Sirius chuckled rubbing the back of his head. "But this does present a learning opportunity for Harry."

"How so?"

Sirius smirked at him. "Pranking. Your father would turn over in his grave if I didn't do my godfather duty and teach you how to properly prank someone."

While his mother rolled her eyes, Harry was actually semi excited at the prospect. "Okay…what do I do?"

"Just follow my lead Harry and stay back." Sirius said leading the two of them towards the house. "Just remember. You used to call Remus 'Unc'Moony'."

As he stepped foot onto the front steps, Harry felt as if he'd passed through a veil of the Force. Judging by the way his mother hesitated slightly he wasn't the only one who'd felt it either.

"Remus!" Sirius shouted holding the door open for the two of them to enter. "I'm back."

The inside of the house felt entirely different from the outside. It felt…dark. Cold. As if the darkside had permeated every inch of the inside. "Feels like home." His mother whispered just loud enough for him to hear as Sirius kept shouting into the house for the man named Remus. "And I sense…a presence I haven't felt for some time. Well well well…this place has certainly peaked my interest."

Before Harry could ask what his mother was talking about they heard a pair of feet thundering down the stairs. "Sirius? Merlin's sake don't scare me like that! Did you have any luck finding…."

The voice trailed off as a man rounded the corner before them. The man looked the same age as Sirius except he had sandy blond hair instead of Sirius' black. And he also looked completely ragged. As if he'd fought several fights against his mother in a row and lost them all. But also…there was a darkness within the man. Not dangerous per se. But wild. Untamed. Something that was begging to be set free.

"Well, you could say that I had some luck." Sirius said motioning for the two of them to step forward. "Moony. I'd like to you re-meet prongslet. And this here is the woman who's been looking after him for the past eight years."

Remembering what Sirius said outside, Harry stepped right up to the man and looked up at him. "Hello Unc'Moony. It's good to see you again."

Remus's reaction was…unexpected. The man's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he fell flat on his back dead to the world.

"Well." His mother chuckled. "That is one way to make an entrance."

* * *

Sitting at the kitchen table, Sirius remained completely silent as his last remaining friend marched back and forth. "What were you thinking Sirius?" Remus practically yelled, making Sirius grateful that he put up silencing charms around the kitchen before Remus could start in on him. "Why is she here? She kidnapped Harry for Merlin's sake! And now you're allowing her free reign? She could be in Azkaban. Not lounging in the guest room upstairs with Prongslet!"

Downing his fifth shot of fire-whiskey, Sirius sighed at his friend. "And what choice did I have Remus? Nox is ridiculously powerful. I'm talking Dumbledore and ol'Voldy level here but only wandless. Not to mention that Prongslet looks up to her as his mother. And based on everything I've seen since I met them…she's done right in raising him. I know James and Lily would be proud to see their son now. But most importantly…he's happy Remus. And isn't that what we always wanted?"

Remus stopped and stared at him for a moment before pulling out his wand and casting several spells around Sirius. "I've already checked and doubled checked for compulsion charms or anything of that nature Remus." Sirius smirked as Remus lowered his wand. "Five times a day since I met her. And nothing."

Dropping down heavily into the seat across from him, Remus bypassed the glass and took a pull straight from the bottle. The only indication the werewolf even drank afterword's was the slightest bit of smoke puffing from his ears. "So what? We just accept this woman as Harry's adoptive mother? Even if, and I stress 'if, we could live with that. The Wizengamot won't. They'll see her in Azkaban the first time she appears in public with him."

Taking the bottle back from Remus, Sirius poured himself another shot. "Have a little faith Remus. Just like back in school, I've always got a plan to get us out of trouble."

"Your plan usually revolved around trying to shag the Head Girl and getting us a free pass." Remus chuckled.

"Hey it worked didn't it! Remember fifth year? Got us out of detention just before our OWLS."

"I also remember in sixth year when that same stunt earned yourself a black eye and another week of detention for the rest of us. Not to mention seventh year was Lily…and there was no way that was ever going to happen." Placing his elbows onto the table, Remus rested his head against his hands. "Alright Sirius. What's your plan for getting us out of this one?"

"Well, first thing that the Wizenagmot will question is whether or not she even is a witch. Her wandless magic should be more than enough to answer that question, but just to sooth the diehards, we'll buy her a wand." Pausing long enough to take his shot, Sirius let the liquid burn down his throat and help build his courage for the next part. "But first…I'll take her to Gringotts and transfer magical guardianship over to her."

Remus stared at him completely speechless. "Sirius…you can't be serious. And don't even think about pulling out the pun right now."

Rolling his empty glass around in his hand, he couldn't look up and meet Remus's accusing glare. "I am serious Remus. No pun intended. This is the last and best way to know if I've been compelled in any way. And even if not…she still has to pass. If she doesn't or if I've been compelled in any manner. We'll know soon enough. And if not…then I guess we gain a new roomie. And we pray that she never figures it out."

"And if she fails Sirius…what do we tell Harry?"

"Honestly…I have no clue Remus." Sirius answered truthfully. "But this is our only course of action. Not only to prove whether or not she is fit for Harry. But also to keep her out of Azkaban if she is."

Rubbing his hands through is hair, Remus let out a long sigh. "I hope you're right Sirius. I really do."

"So do I my friend. So do I."

* * *

Cocking her head slightly, Nox stared in wonderment at the building before them. It had its own appeal she supposed. But the zig-zagging patterns that were part of the support columns in front…by all logic this building shouldn't have been able to even support its own weight. The shopping center that'd bristled with the Force had certainly been interesting to see, she couldn't think of a single Sith or Jedi who wouldn't kill to spend at least half a day in this place. But this one building had certainly taken the proverbial cake as it were. "So this is your wizarding bank…Gringotts?"

Standing beside her Sirius nodded. "Yup. That's the wizarding world's bank. Run by the goblins. Clever little buggers and probably some of the last creatures you would ever want to cross."

Tilting her head to the side, she went from studying the building to studying the small creatures that were standing guard in full metal armor beside the entrance. "Is that why they were chosen to guard your money?"

"Well, actually they were given control after the wizards defeated their last uprising." Sirius shrugged rubbing the back of his head. "Not really sure why we did that though. Probably to keep them from rising up again."

"Because the wizards didn't win Sirius." Nox stated while leveling her gaze at Sirius. "One universal truth. No one would willing give up control of their entire economic system to a species they'd just defeated in war. No. More than likely the goblins won the last war and demanded control of your economy in exchange for your surrender."

"Huh. Never thought of it that way before." Sirius shrugged scratching the back of his head. "Well, either way. The goblins are in control and they're the last people you want to piss off. So, try and be polite."

Patting Sirius on the cheek, Nox turned and made for the entrance. "Don't worry Sirius. I read up on them this morning and have a good idea on just how to deal with them."

"Whew. Thank Merlin." Sirius breathed reaching for the door and opening it for her. "Now when we get in there we're going to want to ask to talk with – what the…? Did it just get slightly chilly in here?"

Walking past the throngs of people who were waiting in various lines throughout the bank, Nox smirked as she noticed several other Force sen – wizards and witches having the same reaction as Sirius. She'd been steadily drawing on the dark side since before she'd entered the bank. Not enough to seem overly hostile. But enough to let it be known to any that she was not one to be trifled with.

Ignoring Sirius's calls that they would have to wait in line, Nox walked past the wizards and witches until she spotted one goblin who was counting metal coins and didn't have a line in front of him. After seeing the smaller creatures outside, she assumed that this warrior race would all be wearing armor. But instead the ones behind the counters were wearing…non-magical business attire. Schooling her features she walked with her head held high right up to the goblin. "I will speak with the account manager for the Potter accounts. And I need to open a new vault as well."

The goblin paused in his counting long enough to sneer at her and point towards the 'Closed' sign on his desk. "Idiot human, can't you read? Go to the back of the line with the rest of your kind and wait or I'll have you thrown out."

Reaching out faster than the eye could follow Nox grabbed hold of the creatures neck tie and pulled down. The goblins nose let out a more than slightly audible snap as it shattered against the wooden surface of his desk before Nox threw the goblin back off his chair and to the ground.

Every eye in the back, goblin and human, were immediately on her. Most were starring in open mouthed shock and horror. Including Sirius. The goblins however…they were staring at her in curiosity. It'd probably been a long time since anyone openly challenged or defied them. "You will bring me the account manager I requested goblin, or you will have to explain to your superiors why you are responsible for the account I mentioned vacating Gringotts. Oh, and insult me again and I will remove your tongue through your throat."

Slowly picking himself up off the floor, the goblin glared at her for all of a minute before giving her a smile that could only be described as 'feral' before marching off without another word.

"Are you mad?" Sirius furious whispered in her ear as the other goblins in the bank began barking at the wizards and witches to get on with their day.

"That depends on who you ask Sirius." Nox shot back with a perfectly straight face.

"Yeah…I should've expected that answer." Sirius sighed. "Just please…don't do anything to get us killed. Or worse."

Seeing the goblin, complete with blood running down his face and suit, return to the main atrium and wave them over she turned to her companion and lightly patted him on the cheek. "Don't worry Sirius. I'll protect you from the big bad goblins. Just be a good little puppy and stay quiet. And if you're a good boy, mommy will give you a treat when we get home."

Leaving a thoroughly confused Sirius to catch up, Nox made her way over to the goblin and followed him though the back halls of the bank until they reached a set of fairly ornate doors. Placing a clawed hand on the door Nox felt a slight surge of the Force before the door seemingly opened of its own accord. "Master Account Manager Bloodrain, Lord Sirius Black and…a woman are here to see you regarding the Potter Family Vaults."

The room was mostly void of anything save for a large desk in the center of the room and two large shelves lined with scrolls and books that completely covered two of the walls within the room. Behind the desk sat another goblin. ' _Obviously a severe lack of genetic diversity within their species.'_ Nox mused as she examined the other goblin. About the only thing that really distinguished the two were their differing hair colors and the fact that the goblin behind the desk had several ornate gold chains around his neck. No doubt to signify his station.

Without even bothering to look up from his ledger, the elder goblin waved his hand in a shooing manner. "I can see that Teller Hookrot. Leave us."

Without waiting for the injured goblin to leave and without promoting from the elder goblin Nox sat down in one of the two empty seats across the desk. Even with his focus on the book before him, Nox could see the goblins eyebrows quirk slightly at her bold move. Sirius hesitated only the briefest of moments before joining her.

A few seconds later the goblin made one more notation in the book before closing it and staring at her. "So you are the one who injured Teller Hookrot."

"Your brethren insulted me." Nox explained calmly, not allowing an ounce of fear or uncertainty mare her features or voice. "I educated him that such a move was ill advised."

Leaning back in his seat Bloodrain rubbed his chin while staring at her. "Hmm. I see. Well then, I will ensure that he is further educated then so he does not make the same mistake twice madam. Now seeing as how you are here to speak with me regarding the Potter Vaults and with Lord Black in tow. I can only assume that you are the one responsible for the disappearance of the Potter Heir eight years ago?"

"You would be correct, Master Bloodrain. But that discussion can wait for a moment. Right now I would like to discuss the opening of a new vault for myself." Nox said reaching into her robes and pulled out her bank card. The one thing that she'd been more than pleased with was being able to change back into her Sith robes. The clothing didn't stand as much here as it did amongst the non-Force sensitives. "I trust that you have access to non-magical banks?"

"Correct." Bloodrain nodded as she handed over her card.

"Good. That card will grant you access to my Swiss bank account." Leaning back in her seat she fixed the goblin with a flat stare. "I want fifty percent of the current assets within that account converted to the local currency and transferred into my vault. Current withdrawals will occur once every quarter at twenty-five percent of current assets."

Nodding along to her demands, Bloodraing touched a small crystal on his desk when she was done. Almost immediately the doors to his office opened and another goblin stepped in. "Junior Account Manager Griphook. You will create a new vault under the name…"

"Nox."

"Under the name of Nox." Pausing, he handed her bank card off to the goblin Griphook before continuing. "You will then transfer fifty percent of the current holdings in this account into the vault after converting it to galleons. Bring the vault holdings ledger to me once you're done."

"Yes, Master Account Manager," Griphook said, bowing as he stepped out of the room before the doors shut once again.

Folding his hands together, Bloodrain leaned forward against his desk. "Now that that business is out of the way, what business do we have to discuss concerning the Potter Vaults?"

Sirius's posture changed slightly, but it was still noticeable to Nox. His back as slightly straighter. His chin was raised. And the previous nervousness she could sense from him was all but gone. ' _Good. I would hate to have to kill Harry's godfather for being a weakling. At least I now know that he has some potential. I just have to find a way to bring it to the surface more often.'_

"Master Bloodrain." Sirius began, shooting her a quick look before continuing. "I, Lord Sirius Orion Black, of my own free will and admission do wish to transfer magical guardianship of Harry James Potter over to Madam Ziri Nox. Effective retroactively as of November 1st 1991."

Both of Bloodrain's thick eyebrows rose nearly to his hair line. "Do you now." Hopping off his seat he walked over to one of the large bookshelf's and pulled out a thick book.

Marching back, the goblin dropped the heavy book onto his desk with a thud. Nox felt a slight shift in the Force as the goblin placed his hand on the cover and the clasps keeping the book seal sprung open as if they had a mind of their own. Nox raised an eyebrow as she felt a slight shift in the Force with each page the little creature turned. By the time he'd turned more than twice the number of pages the book should've been able to physically hold, she had to fight herself from grinning. This world, as backwatered as it was, had apparently discovered uses for the Force that no Jedi or Sith had ever before. More than likely because they were too busy trying to kill one another to delve into research outside of war time abilities.

"Here it is." Master Bloodrain said, turning the book so the words were facing the two of them.

Pulling the book towards them Nox read over the page. _'Harry James Potter, Heir to House Potter. Father; James Charlus Potter (Deceased). Mother: Lily Susan Potter (Deceased). Magical Guardian: Sirius Orion Black.'_

"You will each need to cut your finger." Bloodrain said, pulling out an ornately curved blade and setting it on top of the book. "Then you will each place your fingers on either side of Lord Blacks name in the book. You'll state your names, titles, and say that you relieve or accept guardianship of Harry James Potter, Heir to House Potter. Should Lord Black be doing this of his own accord and free from outside influences, and should the Potter Family magic's accept you. Then guardianship within the book shall change from Lord Black to yourself Madam Nox."

Without hesitation Nox picked up the knife and made a slight cut on her index finger before handing the knife off to Sirius with a mild flourish. Sirius was apparently not quite as accustomed to pain as she was, as the small cut he made on his finger was significantly smaller than hers and he still winced.

As each pressed their fingers to the page, Nox met Sirius gaze. "I, Sirius Orion Black, Head of House Black. Do hereby of my own free will transfer magical guardianship of Harry James Potter to Ziri Nox. So mote it be."

"I, Darth Ziri Nox, Head of the Pyramid of Ancient Knowledge," Nox just barely managed to hide her smirk at the twitch in Sirius's eye. She just knew that her title had generated about a dozen questions. "Do hereby accept the magical guardianship of Harry James Potter of my own free will. So mote it be."

The moment the words left her, she felt another shift in the Force. Although calling it a 'shift' would be inaccurate. It felt like the Force was washing through her, examining her down to her very soul. For the briefest moment she felt the pain of uncertainty. The goblin said the Potter Family magic's needed to accept her. What if she wasn't accepted? What would happen to her? To Harry?

Forcing those doubts aside, she focused on Sirius and let the Force flow through her freely. Soon enough the tidal wave of the Force that'd been flowing through her subsided. Looking down at the book, Nox smiled in triumph. The name of Harry's magical guardian within the book had changed from Sirius to herself.

"The exchange is done." Bloodrain said holding out a cloth for the two of them. "Harry James Potter is officially your ward Madam – Darth Nox. You are now the Proxy for House Potter until the young Heir comes of age."

"Madam will do." She said as Sirius took the cloth. She watched as he wiped it against his finger, which in turn caused the cut to disappear. Turning down the offered cloth, she pressed her finger to her thumb and channeled the slightest bit of Force into her finger to knit the skin back together. "Just out of curiosity Master Bloodrain. What would've happened should the Potter Family magic's found me unworthy? Or if Sirius had been coerced in any fashion?"

Bloodrain grinned. "It varies by family. But with the Potters? Your blood would've boiled in your veins. And you would've died a long painful death on my office floor."

Nox turned a raised eyebrow at Sirius, who looked slightly ashamed before he could cover it up. So he knew. ' _Oh Sirius…I can work with you my little dog.'_

"I can have the Potter Vaults re-activated within the day and give you the ledger detailing their holdings."

"No." Nox said shaking her head, much to the surprise of both men. "Right now my son is presumed missing. And I want to keep it that way for the moment. While I trust you goblins to do your job. I have no doubt that the enemies and presumed allies of my son are watching and waiting for his Vaults to activate. When Harry is re-admitted to this world, it will be under our terms and when we're ready. But I will take the ledger."

Nodding, Bloodrain put the knife away and closed the book before getting up and returning it to the shelf. After staring at the shelf for a moment longer he pulled out a slimmer tome and handed it off to her. "That is a copy of the Holdings Ledger for the Potter Family. Should you require anything else than that, it will cost you extra. And these," opening one of his drawers he pulled out a stack of papers that was at least three inches thick, "are marriage offers from various families."

"Damn, I knew I was meaning to do something before all of this." Sirius mumbled. "Was planning on using them as target practice."

Bloodrain didn't appear to pay attention as his focus was on her. "Do you wish for me to destroy these Madam Nox?"

"No." She said drawing a surprised look from Sirius. "I am curious as to who it is that has designs on my son. I'll take them with the ledger."

Nodding, Bloodrain took the ledger and marriage offers and placed then into a large envelope. "Is there any other business you wish to discuss today?"

Before Nox could respond, the door burst open and the small goblin, Griphook she believed his name was, came running in. Bloodrain gave the goblin a curious look as he leaned back in his chair. "That took you longer than it should have, Junior Accountant Griphook."

"Apologies, Master Account Manager Bloodrain." Griphook sounded slightly breathless as he handed off a scroll to the elder goblin. "I created the vault. But after the transfer…I had to change the vault location."

Taking the scroll quickly from Griphook, Bloodrain read over its contents quickly. While Nox could detect the slightest bit of excitement and shock from the goblin, the only outward sign he gave off was the slightest quirking of his eyebrows. "Well, Madam Nox. You are now the proud owner of Vault 14. An appropriate Master Account Manager will be selected to manage your vaults and will contact you via owl shortly."

Nox wasn't sure as to the significance of the number was. But going off of the surprised look on Sirius's face, she could only assume it meant good things to her. "There is no need for a selection. This one here will do." She said pointing towards Griphook.

Griphook looked positively vicious, while Bloodrain scowled. "With respect…an account your size requires a Master Account Manager…not a Junior Accountant. And we goblins have our own traditions in the selection process. But your…choice shall be noted. And Griphook's name shall be added to the list of candidates."

"Very well." Nox said standing and prompting Sirius to do the same. "I trust that Griphook here will do what is necessary to achieve the position. I would hate to have the confidence I've shown in him be for not. Oh and Master Bloodrain. Whoever does become my account manager, be sure to tell them that I expect their performance to be exemplary. If not…then I will mount their head onto a spike outside. While it is still attached to their bodies. I'm sure I can aim it just right so they will have a few days to contemplate their folly before they are granted death."

Bloodrain looked positively thrilled. "I think, Madam Nox, that Gringotts is going to enjoy doing business with you. May your gold always flow."

Smirking, Nox made the slightest bow, nothing more than the slightest nodding of her head, but still a sign of respect. "We can only hope so Master Bloodrain. May your enemies know nothing but death and despair."

Without another word she turned heel and marched out of the doors, once again leaving Sirius to nearly run in order to catch up. As they walked through the entrance hall, Nox once more had to fight against her urge to laugh at the shocked expression on the witches and wizards present. Apparently they all thought that her head would be decorating the outside walls. The topper to the day though was when two goblin warriors opened the doors for her and bowed slightly as she passed them by. ' _Idiots.'_ She thought seeing the look of utter disbelief on the witches and wizards. ' _I've only been on this world for a decade. And been exposed to the Force sensitive side for far less. And I can deal with these goblins better than them. Fouls. All they needed to do is show the goblins the slightest bit of strength.'_

After the duo had made it several yards down the alley way, Sirius grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her off to a darkened side street. "Well Sirius." She said as the man roughly pushed her into the shadows. "I knew you were an old lecher, but to force a woman like this? One would think –"

"Don't give me that shite!" Sirius hissed through gritted teeth. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking in there? Bloody hell, we're lucking to have even gotten out of there alive!"

"Luck had nothing to do with it Sirius." Nox said levelly, all traces of humor gone from her voice. "I know their type. They're warriors who've been denied war. It's almost like having the Mandalorians in control of the banks. What you wizards fail to see, is that their lack of respect is due to a lack of respect of your half."

"What are you talking about?" Sirius questioned. "Everyone is respectful to the goblins. At least those that want to keep their heads."

"You mistake politeness for respect Sirius." Nox said shaking her head. "Being overly polite to them could be considered an insult. No. The respect they desire is respect for their strength. The best way to show that is to match their strength with a showing of your own. Doing so will mean that you acknowledge their strength. And that is the respect that they wish for."

Sirius didn't say anything for several long moments as he process what she'd just said. "Huh…never thought about it like that before. I don't think any witch or wizard has."

"I have a feeling I'm going to be hearing that a lot." Nox sighed rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Oh yes…and there is one more thing we must discuss."

Using the Force to augment her body she rushed at Sirius. The man couldn't even utter a cry for help before she had one hand pressed against his mouth while her other hand had a told hold on his manhood. "You tried to kill me just now Sirius." She said tightening her hold on him. "And while I respect the attempt and the way you went about it. If you try something like that again…then the removal of your manhood will be the least of your worries. Do we understand each other?"

With tears in his eyes, Sirius nodded vigorously against her hand. "Good boy." She said removing her hold on him and taking a step back.

"Merlin woman." Sirius growled, cupping himself. "What's up with you and threats to my bits all the time? You got a fetish or something?"

Nox shot him a grin as she picked up on the stray thoughts coming from him. "Well…you seem so dead set on thinking with that 'head' of yours. That I figured it's the best way to have your undivided attention."

"Hey!" Sirius shouted, almost managing to stand upright before wincing and bending over again. "I don't think with little Siri all the time!"

Nox just continued to stare at him. "While your mental defenses are good Sirius…they are far from perfect. In the two weeks that we've known each other, you've thought about what my naked ass would look like in bed at least six times that I know of. Now just to dispel that notion…you have wrong parts to truly excite me Sirius." Turning her back to him, she marched out of the dark alley. "Now if you can dig your mind out of the gutter for longer than ten seconds you said there were two things we needed to do so that my guardianship wouldn't be questioned. The first was the goblins. Now what is the second?"

"You need a wand." Sirius said, limping more than a little as he made it to her side. "The wizengamot may not be able to question the goblins…but they will raise issue if we can't prove you're a witch. And despite your abilities with wandless casting. The best way to disprove the notion that you aren't a witch is to get you a wand."

Nox thought back to the two wands that she had 'liberated' the night she'd taken Harry. "I had a wand before, two of them in fact. Confiscated from two flunkies that followed that wannabe 'dark lord' you're all too afraid to speak of. But they never worked for me so I discarded them." Actually she ended up destroying them in a fit of rage. But he didn't need to know that.

Sirius, still wincing slightly, rubbed his chin as he guided them down the alley. "Hmm. More than likely they didn't work because the wands didn't choose you."

"Come again?"

"The wands, they didn't choose you." Rubbing the back of his head, Sirius looked at her apologetically. "Don't really know the specifics myself. But they say that the wand chooses the witch or wizard. If the wand doesn't choose you, then it won't work nearly as well for you."

"I see." Nox said deep in thought at the possibilities of a fully functional wand. She'd had theories, but could never test them because of the resistance she'd faced. "How does one obtain a wand then? Do you make it yourself?"

"Good Merlin no." Sirius chuckled shaking his head. "No. Wand crafting requires a specialist, which is where we're going. In the past people, amateurs really, have tried crafting their own wands. If they're lucky all that will happen is that the wand won't work. If they're unlucky…well let's just say that it was an amateur wand maker that caused the New York Blackout of 1965. And here we are. The best wand maker in all of Europe, possibly the world. Ollivanders."

Standing before the shop, Nox looked up at the sign. ' _Ollivanders…Maker of Fine Wands since 382BC.'_

Walking up to the entrance, Sirius held the door open for her. "Well come on. Let's finalize you becoming a full-fledged witch Ms. Nox."

Walking up to the storefront Nox wasn't able to sense anything special about the place. But the moment she stepped foot through the threshold she stood stock still. The inside was practically signing with the Force. It took Sirius nudging her in the back to get her to continue on. But even then…the feeling of this place. It was intoxicating. "Good after noon Lord Black; twelve inches, ash, dragon heart string, pliable."

Nox just barely managed to keep her composure as the voice reached her ears. She'd been so distracted by the feel of the place that she hadn't even registered the third presence in the room until he was just about standing right next to them. ' _Stupid.'_ She cursed herself. Such a lapse in awareness usually meant death to a Sith.

The older man turned his gaze on her and Nox felt herself shutter involuntarily. It was as if the man wasn't even looking at her. But at her presence in the Force. She'd heard of Jedi and some Sith who could perform the same feat with no small amount of concentration. But to do it on a subconscious level…this was a man she needed to learn from. If for no other reason than to learn how to gain his sight. "And you…you I do not know Madam…"

"Nox. Ziri Nox."

The old man stared at her for a moment long. "Fascinating. A relation to a Veela perhaps? No wrong hair color. Muggleborn by chance?"

"As good as." Sirius put in quickly. "She hasn't received any formal education. But she's a wiz when it comes to wandless magic."

"Is she now?" The old man said stepping towards her. "I would like to see that."

Deciding to have a little fun, and to further punish Sirius, she lifted her companion up off the ground and tilted him around so he was facing the floor five feet up in the air. "Hey! I didn't say to demonstrate on me! Put me down!"

Nox just shook her head. "Poor choice of words Sirius." She said letting go of him and ignoring his pained cry as she faced the older man. "You know my name old man. I would know yours."

The old man just continued to stare at her for a few minutes longer before giving himself a visible shake. "Forgive me Madam Nox. I am Garrick Ollivander. And you my dear are here for a wand yes? Of course you are. Now then, which hand do you cast with dear?"

Nox almost said her right, but stopped herself. She wasn't sure if there was a significance with which hand she used, but she would be damned if she ever limited her ability to use her lightsaber. "My left."

The man nodded almost absentmindedly and snapped his fingers. Immediately a tape measure appeared and began circling her body. But even as the tape measure circled her, she could feel the man's eyes once again peering into her Force presence. ' _The measurements are for show. The old man is looking into my presence…but for what?'_

After a minute or two of some rather embarrassing measurements, Nox caught the tape measure with the Force and tore it to pieces. "If you're going to examine my presence Ollivander, although what you are looking for I have no clue. Then I would appreciate you not trying to deceive me before hand."

The man blinked a few times before a smiling so wide he nearly split his face in two. "Ah…another with the sight. It has been a long time since a witch or wizard has spotted what I've been doing. Now then…almost done my dear…I see…yes I think that might – no. Definitely not. Will have to be…oh…could it? I think so."

While the old man was rambling on, Nox thought about his word usage. Being a Sith meant she'd become an expert in picking up subtle subtext. ' _He said a 'witch or a wizard'…almost as if he didn't relate to either…could it be?'_

Deciding to return the favor, Nox opened her senses and focused on the old man. What she found was…shocking. The man wasn't human. At least not entirely. She couldn't tell what he was. But whatever sub-species he was…they were powerful in the Force.

"Are you done 'looking' at me my dear?" Ollivander asked with another wide smile. "I seem to remember you saying you didn't appreciate the deception."

"Consider it fair play for your earlier deception." Nox said without emotion.

"Fair enough my dear…now off to your wand!" Ollivander chuckled as he rubbed his hands together before disappearing behind the shelves full of boxes.

"Oww…did you have to drop me?"

Blinking, Nox turned to Sirius. "Hm. I forgot for a moment that you were there. And you said to let you go. I merely did what you asked of me."

Shaking his head, Sirius pointedly looked away from her. "I see. Be careful how I phrase things around you. Why do I get the feeling that being your friend is going to be painful?"

"Would you rather be my enemy?" Nox asked cocking an eyebrow at him.

"Merlin no. Being your friend is painful enough thank you very much."

The creaking of the floor boards ended their conversation as Ollivander appeared from the depths of his store. In his hands he held a long thin black box as if it were the most precious thing in the world. "This is the oldest wand in this store." He said caressing the box. "It was one of the first wands made by the Ollivanders way back in 380BC. In all that time…it has never once chosen a witch or wizard before. But for you my dear…I believe that this wand was waiting for you."

Opening the box, the old man pulled out a long black stick. The handle was slightly curved much like the hilt of her lightsaber. The shaft was covered in slight ornamental designs that she couldn't decipher. But the moment he'd lifted the lid off the box, she felt herself being pulled towards it.

"Thirteen and one-half inches. Duel core composed of a phoenix tail feather, whom only gave one feather, wrapped in a threstral tail hair. And the wood…the wood of an elder tree."

Curling her fingers around the soft wood, Nox closed her eyes as she was subjected to an almost orgasmic level of power from the Force. It felt as if a part of her that she didn't even know was missing was suddenly back in place. By the Force…if the Sith of her time had ever gotten their hands on these wands they would've been unstoppable. But it was too late for them. But if she could train Force users to fight and utilize these wands…Force. Her Empire would be unchallenged.

She had no idea how long she was under the thrall of the feeling. But when she opened her eyes Sirius and Ollivander were just starting to look over their hands which had been covering their eyes. "Yes. Yes!" Ollivander cried out in joy. "Finally…after all these years. For such a reaction…yes without a doubt this wand has been waiting for you my dear for almost twenty-four hundred years!"

"I take it this means this wand has accepted me?" She asked rhetorically.

"Yes yes!" Ollivander cried practically dancing around his small shop while Sirius watched on looking utterly confused. "Ah, forgive my exuberance. That wand has been a quandary amongst my family for generations."

"Forgiven." Nox said simply. "I will require a wand holster like the one Sirius has as well."

"Yes yes of course." Going behind his desk the old man dipped below the counter for a second before reemerging with a small leather piece. "Just strap this onto the underside of your arm my dear."

Taking the leather from the wand maker, Nox rolled up her sleeve and placed it flush against the underside of her left forearm. The straps moved as if they had a mind of their own, wrapping around her arm and tightening snuggly to her skin. Looking at the piece, she couldn't help but wonder just how her wand was supposed to fit into something that was less than half the size.

"Just place the handle end of your wand against the opening right at the edge there." Sirius explained, pointing at her holster. "Then when you want to draw it, just flick your wrist like so."

Copying his movements, Nox placed the tip of the handle at the edge of the leather. The wand immediately retracted into the leather without changing its shape. ' _Dimensional compression...or expansion. Sith, Jedi, Republic and Empire scientists had been working for hundreds of years trying to do this. And yet…once again this backwater planet has succeeded where greatest civilizations in the galaxy failed. Unbelievable.'_

Copying Sirius's movements, she flicked her left hand. Her wand shot out like a blaster blot from its holster. But traveled no further than the palm of her hand. In fact, the handle of her wand was hovering just beside the palm of her left hand. Grabbing hold of her wand, she tilted it back just enough so that the handle was touching the leather piece. And just as before, the moment the wood touched the leather the wand was sucked back into it.

"I'll take a second holster as well. You have my thanks, wand crafter." She said bowing slightly before turning to Sirius. "Pay the man."

Sirius blinked at her several times. "Wait…what?"

"You heard me." She said turning her back on the two of them. "Pay the man and let us go. I want to see how Harry's studies have progressed."

"Hey now, you have money! Why can't you pay?"

"Because you are still being punished for your stunt in the bank." She said simply. "Now pay the man and let's depart."

Sirius started grumbling more than a little as he walked up to Ollivander while pulling out a small pouch. But Nox paid neither man any mind. This focus…wand. Presented a whole new avenue of research possibilities. And she couldn't wait to return to the manner house and start.


	5. Chapter 5

**Just a very quick A/N this time. Just want to give another huge shout out to everyone who has reviewed, or added this story to your favorites/follows. Thank you all so much! Your support really helps me write!**

 **Noble Families:**

 **Sacred 28: Abbott, Avery, Black, Bulstrode, Burke, Carrow, Crouch, Fawley, Flint, Gaunt, Greengrass, Lestrange, Longbottom, Macmillan, Malfoy, Nott, Ollivander, Parkinson, Prewtt, Rosier, Rowie, Selwyn, Shacklebolt, Shafiq, Slughorn, Travers, Weasley, Yaxley**

 **Ancient and Noble Families (Not sure if Cannon…but they are in this story): Black, Bones, Greengrass, Potter, Slythein, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff.**

 **Also, offering a little bit of fan service here. I am 100% sure on one of 'Harry's' girls. (Hint…she's been mentioned in a review). The second is still kinda up in the air. The fan service though deals with Nox. Two possibilities for a relationship appear in this chapter. Let me know which one y'all prefer.**

 **Please please please let me know what y'all think in a review! They help me get the next chapter out! Comments, suggestions, tips, and polite critiques are all welcome!**

 **Also made a few little changes to chapter 1 based on reviews. Hope you all enjoy!**

 **Chapter 5**

From his spot on the floor, Harry watched as Remus instructed his mother in the art of using her wand. Although 'instruct' might have been a stretch as his mother required little help. In the two months that they'd been she'd already read through a third of the books within the Black Family Library. A fact that Harry was quite certain of as he had already managed to get through a third of what his mother had. So it wasn't a lack of knowledge that was preventing his mother from using wand-Force abilities. It was the simple fact that most of the abilities seemed to have no sound reasoning for how they were done.

"No." Remus said as his mother pointed her wand only for nothing to happen. "Even with silent casting the pronunciation must be accurate. You must articulate it precisely in your mind. In this case you need to accent the 'Ig' and the 'Re' in ' _Ignis Carpe Retractum'_ and-"

His mother's wand shot out again. Only this time a rope of fire extended from her wand before wrapping itself around the training dummy that'd been set up. With a flick of her wrist the fire cut clean through the dummy leaving the two halves to fall smoldering to the ground.

"Well…" Remus swallowed looking at the still smoldering target. "That was…different."

Harry smirked at Remus's reaction. Harry had felt it incredibly easy to warm up to the man who had been one of his father's best friends. Almost easier than it had been with Sirius. He was kind, knowledgeable, and almost seemed to be a natural when it came to teaching. The only down side, if it could even be considered that, to the kind man was his 'furry problem'.

Harry's initial reaction to learning of Remus's problem was a breathless 'cool'. That reaction though had cause Harry no small amount of shame after seeing the crestfallen expression Remus wore. Which then led to a very in depth discussion about werewolves in general which made Harry feel even worse. Mother had compared it to something she called the 'rakghoul' plague. But unfortunately followed it up by saying that there was no cure for the plague either.

The icing on the cake to his shame came the first time Remus transformed. Sirius and Remus had converted one of the lower rooms to serve as Remus's 'containment' for the night of the full moon. Harry, not content to leave well enough alone, had sought Remus out through the Force during the night. Harry nearly broke down after feeling every ache pain that Remus was forced to suffer through. The next morning Harry had run head long into Remus and hugged the man begging for his forgiveness.

"Effective though." His mother smirked looking at her wand. "Who would've thought that a piece of wood and animal could change how one utilizes the Force so. Tell me. What is the significance of twisting the wand in certain directions? Does it alter the creation of the Force weave that it creates?"

Tuning out the discussion, Harry looked down at the wooden box he was holding. Three days ago his mother had given him this box. And now it was his task to figure out how to open it.

- _Flashback-_

 _"Son, I have something for you."_

 _Harry nearly dropped the book he was reading when he saw his mother standing in the doorway. She was holding onto a long wooden block that was covered in runes. A box he recognized all too well. "Mother…is that…"_

 _Nodding his mother stepped into the room and held the box out towards him. "Yes son. It is time you begin to truly walk the path that the Force has laid before you. This belonged to one of the most powerful individuals' history. The first to ever truly utilize both the Light and the Dark sides of the Force. I know now, actually I knew the moment I took you in, that he passed this on to me so that I would one day pass it on to you my son."_

 _With his heart nearly jumping out of his chest and with visibly shaking hands Harry took the box from his mother. "I'll do my best to honor his legacy mother." But his excitement tempered more than slightly as he looked down at the box. There were no indication on how to open it. "Mother…how do I-"_

 _"You didn't think it would be that simple did you?" His mother asked. "No. You have done well…but you must earn that weapon. Once you figure out how to open it. Then you will be ready to wield it."_

 _-End Flashback-_

"Any luck pup?"

Harry jumped slightly at the voice. Looking up he frowned slightly at Sirius who was smirking down at him. "That wasn't funny." He grumbled. "And no. This is something that I have to earn on my own."

"Ah, well can't blame me for offering pup." Sirius shrugged sitting down next to him and the two watched as his mother practiced. "So pup…care to give me a hint about what your mother wanted to talk to all of us about today?"

Harry winced. He knew exactly what his mother was going to discuss today. She'd told him a week ago that she felt they could trust the two men enough with the truth. Harry trusted them as well. He just didn't know how it was going to go over. "Sorry Sirius, no spoilers."

"Aw well, can't blame a bloke for trying."

For the next few minutes the two remained in silence as Harry continued to focus on the box. He'd tried everything he could think of. Physically opening it. Using the Force to open it. Meditating on first the light then the dark side of the Force. Nothing worked. He was seriously starting to consider Sirius offer for help. But his mother's words held him back from doing so. This was a test that he had to pass on his own.

"Still no luck my son?"

Mother was standing before him with Remus beside her. "Not yet mother." He said standing. "But I'll get it soon."

"I know you will Harry." His mother said placing a hand on his shoulder.

"So…is it time to learn your deep dark secretes yet?" Sirius asked, pushing himself up off the floor. "I'm starting to die of suspense here."

"Some of them at least." His mother smirked walking out of the room with the three of them in tow. "A girl has to keep some secrets. Now let's see…Kreacher!"

With a pop the diminutive house elf appeared next to her. "How can Kreacher serve Mistress Nox?"

"Dear Merlin," Sirius sighed. "I don't know if it's a mark for or against you that you got that little bugger to actually respect you despite the fact that you aren't part of House Black."

Kreacher snorted. "Nasty Master Black not understand-"

"He will soon Kreacher." His mother said quickly. "Fetch the pensieve and the vials."

"Yes Mistress Nox." Kreacher bowed before disappearing with a pop and then reappearing almost immediately with a large stone bowl which he placed on coffee table. "Mistress need anything else from Kreacher?"

Shaking her head, his mother walked up to the bowl took the vials from the elf before pouring them one at a time into the bowl. "Not yet. Go and collect the item we discussed. But do not come until I call."

"Yes Mistress." Kreacher bowed once more before disappearing.

Looking quite puzzled, Sirius walked up level with his mother. "The Black Family Pensieve. What do you need that for?"

His mother didn't answer right away. Instead she poured the last of the silvery contents of the vials into the bowl before taking out her wand and giving the inside a few stirs. "Remember when we first met Sirius. And I said there was nothing I could tell you that would explain why I took Harry? Well after reading about these magnificent creations I decided it would be infinitely easer to just show you why."

Sirius blinked a few times before his face split into a wide grin. "Wait you're…that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because most of the time you don't use your head. Or at least the head that is atop your shoulders." His mother answered calmly. "Now come. Let me show you why I took Harry all those years ago."

Placing the box down beside the pensieve, Harry stood side by side with his mother while Remus and Sirius stood opposite them. As one the four of them reached up and touched the pool of liquid within the bowl. Harry lurched as he felt himself being pulled into the bowl. And then he was surrounded in darkness.

* * *

Finding herself in free fall, Nox twisted and pictured solid ground beneath her feet. And on her command she found herself standing on solid ground with black clouds surrounding herself and the three. It had taken her at least two trips to truly figure out how utilize the pensieve. But once she was able to correlate the experience to her Force Walking Ritual it became indefinitely easier to navigate.

Ever the impatient one, Sirius was the first to speak up. "Alright, you got us in here. So show us why you needed to take Harry."

Holding off answering, Nox walked over to her son and placed her hands on his shoulders. She was still more than a little unsure about whether or not it'd been the right decision to bring him in here. But these were truths, some of which he already knew, that he would have to know sooner or later. "I'm ready mother." Harry said making her blink.

"Yes." She murmured patting his shoulders. "Yes I think you are."

Keeping one arm around his shoulders, she turned and face the two men. "The first thing you must accept…is that I am not from this world. In fact the light from the star that I was born under cannot be seen in the night sky."

Neither Sirius nor Remus said anything for a few seconds. Then Sirius started laughing with Remus following along shortly after. "Oh, that's a good one." Sirius chuckled. "You don't really look like a little green lady though."

"The miraluka's have green colored skin but they are not so little." Nox informed them calmly. "There is a race of 'little green men' as you put it. But they are so rare that it is unlikely you will ever find one outside of the one or two within the ranks of the Jedi."

"Oh shite…you aren't kidding are you?" Sirius asked as realization slowly dawned on him that she was completely serious. "And Harry knows this doesn't he?"

"Yes he does." Nox acknowledged squeezing Harry slightly. "He's been aboard the ship I used to come here –"

"Wait. Ship? You mean an actual space ship?" Remus asked, his curiosity overshadowed by his excitement. "Where is it? Is it disk shape like all the muggles seem to think?"

"At the moment it is hidden safely away back in the States. I can show it to you later. And no, it isn't a saucer." With a wave of her hand the blackness receded and was replaced with the interior of her ship. Standing not too from the four of them was her past self, frozen in time.

"Merlin's saggy balls. You're…you're on the moon!" Sirius breathed looking out the view port before moving around the memory examining every inch of the ship. No doubt looking for some indication that she'd created a false memory. "This…this is all real. And…that's Prongslet on the table before you.

Nodding, Nox looked down at the baby that was her son. "Yes. This is just after I took Harry from his birth parents home. And the reason that I choose this memory to start off with is bec-"

"Can you show us that? I mean, when you went to James's and Lily's house?" Sirius asked sharply.

Hesitating for a moment Nox nodded her consent. "Yes. If it will help us move past this animosity you have towards me."

Another wave of her hand and the ship disappeared only to be replaced with the exit ramp and her past self-leaving the ship. In silence the four of them watched as she walked through the small village, stopping only when a house suddenly appeared from nowhere. "So…they were already dead before you got there." Remus stated more than asked, a stray tear falling down the side of his face.

"Sadly yes." Nox said as her past self leapt up into the tree above the two Death Eaters. The memory then shifted to her throwing her first victim off into the bushes and out of her sight. She didn't feel the need to show them what she'd done to the first Death Eater. Sirius immediately looked around at the shift. "Wait! What just happened there and…oh Merlin. That's Wormtail!"

"Wormtail?" Nox asked as her memory self sat down on the obese man. "He named himself Peter Pettigrew when I questioned him. How do you know him?"

"He is – was one of our best friends." Sirius growled as they watched her interrogation. "The four of us; Remus, James, Peter and I were the best of friends growing up. Then Peter…bloody hell he just admitted to giving them away. And I was the one who told James to use Peter. I as good as kill-"

"Enough!" Nox shouted causing the memory to stand still. "You did not force this fool to betray Harry's parents. Turn your anger away from yourself and focus it where it should be. On this little pathetic piece of bantha fodder."

"Merlin," Remus chuckled. "What did he do to get on your bad side?"

Then came the moment that still irked Nox. Wormtail transformed into a rat before their very eyes and disappeared into the foliage. "He…good Merlin he actually got away from you." Sirius marveled, somewhere between amusement and anger. "Oh, that poor soul. Like having Remus, myself, and over half the wizarding world out for his blood wasn't enough."

The memory continued showing her enter the house. Harry choked up slightly at seeing the sight of his father and then mother lying dead on the ground. "Okay, so you weren't lying then…I take it that is where you had your 'vision'?" Sirius asked when her memory got to the part where the Force had given her a literal push.

Nodding Nox motioned for them to continue watching. "Yes. Now perhaps you can answer the question about who this next person is."

After Nox had retreated into the shadows of the room another man ran in. The instant he appeared both Sirius and Remus swore. "Severus. That no good son of a bitch." Sirius growled as they listened to the man's pained cries. "He must've told ol'Voldy about the Harry. Is that why he went after them?"

"I do not know." Nox answered pausing the memory. "But who is this man. I sense great animosity from the both of you in regards to him."

"He's a snake." Sirius growled.

Shaking his head, Remus continued on. "The four of us and Severus were…rivals I guess you could say. James and Severus worst of all though because of Lily. Yes Harry, your mother. She was once friends with this grease ball. Although even after fifth year I still think she was on speaking terms even if she didn't consider him a friend anymore. But that aside. We pranked each other. A lot. I guess you could say we bullied him."

"Don't make it sound like he was the victim Remus." Sirius sneered. "That arse wipe gave as good as he got. Don't forget that he was the one who escalated pranks to physical violence when he rigged James's potion to explode in fourth year. And you can't tell me he didn't plan on revealing that to us so that James would lay him out flat just as Lily walked around the corner. No. All that arse hole deserves is a slow death."

"I can arrange that. But we are getting off topic here." The memory shifted again and once more they were standing in her ship with her looking over Harry. "Now pay attention gentlemen. When I took Harry I discovered he had two blocks on his power."

"What?" Both Sirius and Remus shouted.

"That's impossible." Sirius said biting his lip. "Both James and Lily were strictly against binding Harry's power. And sure the little guy was powerful. But he calmed down after…No. No he couldn't have."

"Who couldn't have what?" Nox pressed.

Rubbing his head, Sirius looked extremely conflicted. Nox could sense the denial emitting from him. Almost as if he didn't want to believe what he was about to say. "Peter was never strong enough to cast a bind. But there was one other person who visited James and Lily. Dumbledore."

She remembered reading about the man, he held several positions in the government if she remembered correctly. And many herald him as the greatest wizard in the world. "No. No Dumbledore would never do that Sirius." Remus denied shaking his head. "He would have no reason to-"

"But it's the only thing that makes sense Remus." Sirius interrupted. "Think about it. Little Harry here was moving things around with his magic practically since he was born. Then Dumbledore leaves and hardly even a scrape of accidental magic from the little guy ever again. Tell me…what else could it be but a bind?"

"Mother got rid of the binds." Harry said out loud, bringing both men back to attention. "But it is the second bind that she wants you to see."

When the two men quieted down Nox moved the memory forward. The world around them shifted suddenly and went completely black. "What happened?" Sirius yelled.

"I was having trouble removing the second bind on Harry's power. It took me a while, but I figured out that the bind was sentient." Nox stated pointing towards her memory self. "So I used an ancient and mostly forgotten technique of my people to enter Harry's, for lack of a better word, consciousness."

In silence the four watched as her memory progressed forward to the point where the darkness receded and the small creature covered in chains appeared. "What in Merlin's name is that?" Remus asked kneeling down next to it. "It…it almost looks like ol'Voldy."

Nox nodded watching herself kneel down next to the creature and press her finger to its forehead. Just as it had happened eight years ago, the creature gave off an inhuman cry of agony and disintegrated. "You were correct Remus. That thing was a soul fragment of this 'Dark Lord' you all feared so much."

Sirius blinked a few times before his face turned puzzled. "A 'soul fragment'? Where have I heard of that before…was it…no. No. Oh no no no. You are not telling me that ol'Voldy figured out how to create a Horcrux are you?"

Nox just shrugged. "If that is what you call them. Then yes."

Both Sirius and Remus stared swearing up and down. "But…but you destroyed the fragment right?" Remus asked pointing towards the memory. "So we don't need to worry about it right?"

"Yes I destroyed the fragment. But wrong that we no longer have to concern ourselves with this 'Dark Lord'." Nox sighed shaking her head. "That fragment came from a soul that'd already been fragmented at least two or three times before. He has more of these soul shards out there somewhere. And until they are destroyed-"

"Then the man who killed my parents cannot die." Harry finished with a coldness that made Nox proud.

Both men looked at each other once before looking at them. "What do you want us to do?" Sirius asked. "We'll do whatever it takes to send ol'Voldy to hell. Apparently one piece at a time."

Nox felt herself smirk. The first part had gone well. Now it was time to move onto the harder part. "Defeating will be a start…but unfortunately it will not be enough." She said with a wave of her hand sending the back into nothingness. "You see, much like in the rest of the galaxy the Force, or magic, on this world is imbalanced. Which is why there are currently three 'Dark Lords' besides this Voldemort."

"Three?!" Both Remus and Sirius exclaimed.

"Yes, three. Well four if you count this Voldemort as well. So defeating this Voldemort will not be enough. Nor will defeating the others. New 'Dark Lords' will simply rise up to fill the void left by their deaths. And that is because the Force, magic, wants to remain in balance. Too many Light Lords tip the scales and forces the creation of a Dark Lord or Lord's to balance them. There is only one way to end this constant teetering. And that is the creation of a new order. An order that is both light and dark. That is why the Force sent me here."

"But why not do this back in your own…home galaxy? Universe? Wherever you came from." Sirius asked scratching the back of his head.

With a snap of her right wrist her lightsaber shot out from its holster and into her hand. "As I'm sure you two have guessed by now, there are others in the universe that use the Force. Or magic if you must. Our understanding of it however is much different than your own. There are two sides of the Force. The Light side and the Dark side. This difference has led to the creation of two distinct orders. The Jedi who use the Light Side. And the Sith who use the Dark Side. Because of their very nature as Light and Dark, the Sith and the Jedi have waged countless wars on one another. A war which is about to begin anew if it has not already. But that war is not our problem. Our problem will be dealing with the victor. And before you ask, don't." Nox said sharply as Sirius opened his mouth. "I was once a Sith but now I am neither yet both. And trust me gentlemen. Asking most Sith to embrace the light, or a Jedi to embrace the darkness, is about as likely as the sun of this world rising is the west and setting in the east.

"This world however is rich in the Force. Far richer than any other world I have ever encountered. Korriban and Tython included. But this world is isolated from the rest of the galaxy, at least for the moment. This was the best chance for new order…so the Force led me here."

Nox nearly smirked as she felt the emotions of both men. They were teetering. All they needed was one more push and she would have them. "Tell me…have the Dark and Light Lords of late seem to have become stronger or weaker than in the past?"

Remus was the first to answer. "Well…Dumbledore is said to be one of the greatest wizards since Merlin. And I guess you could consider him a 'Light Lord' as you put it. And ol'Voldy…well he was frightening. I knew wizards that fought against both Grindelwald and Voldemort. And between the two they all agreed that Voldemort was far more powerful."

"That is because the fluctuations in magic are getting broader." Harry answered drawing surprised looks from both Sirius and Remus. "What?"

"Nothing pup." Sirius chuckled. "Just haven't met many nine year olds that not only knew the word fluctuate, but can use it correctly. Damn bookworms. Lily would be so proud."

"As I am." Nox said smiling down at Harry who turned an interesting shade of red. "But Harry is correct. With each rise or defeat of a Dark or a Light Lord, magic will compensate with the creation of a more powerful opposite to match. In time a rift will form and you will be facing off against a true Dark Lord. Allow me to show you a memory of the greatest Dark Lord I have ever met. Emperor Vitiate. And the oppression that can occur from an order that is only based in the Light."

Waving her hand the blackness began to solidify once more. When the darkness cleared they were standing on a space station side by side with herself and the Hero of Tython looking down at the world that'd once been Ziost. Just before Vitiate initiated his ritual.

* * *

Coming out of the pensieve, Harry managed to only stumble slightly before he could catch himself. Sirius and Remus however were not as fortunate. Both men exited the pensieve completely pale with Sirius actually having to bend over and throw up. "Dear Merlin." Sirius breathed wiping at his mouth as his mother exited. "So many people…an entire world. Good Merlin…"

Harry's own feelings weren't quite far from Sirius's. He knew that the Force was powerful. But too completely wipe clean the surface of a planet. He just couldn't wrap his young mind around it.

"And the Jedi." Remus breathed sitting down heavily on the couch. "Outlawing an entire culture because they felt it was too dark. Merlin…some of those cultures could be saints when compared to ours."

Walking over to a nearby cabinet, Sirius threw the doors opened and pulled out a brown bottle. Not even bothering with glasses, his godfather drank heavily right from the bottle. "So what do we do?" Sirius asked as steam shot out from his ears.

Taking a seat, his mother motioned for him to sit beside her. Which he did instantly. Her arm around him was comforting as he tried to process what he'd just seen. "As I said. The reason the Force guided me here was to create balance. This world, while in fluctuation, is far more moderate than the rest of the galaxy at the moment. And with such a large Force population, balancing this world will lead towards a greater balance in the universe at large."

"So you're talking about creating a neutral faction?" Sirius half questioned half stated. "There's already one in place. But they've been losing power left and right since the war. I suppose I could send out some feelers for allies…but we'd have to have something more concrete to get them to join us."

"I guess it's a good thing that I've come prepared then." Even Harry looked up at his mother at this. She never told him that she had some evidence outside of her memories that the murder of his parents was still alive. "Or rather…you've had the evidence all along Sirius. Kreacher!"

Kreacher appeared beside her with a pop. In his hands he was holding a small silver pendent as if it were the most valuable thing in the world. "Kreacher be bringing it…just as Mistress Nox asked." With extreme hesitance, Kreacher placed the medallion on the table next to the pensive before backing away quickly.

"Thank you Kreacher." His mother said before using the Force to lift the medallion up off the table. "Harry, gentlemen. You might not recognize him like this. But may I introduce you to your dreaded Dark Lord Voldemort. Or at least a fragment of him at any rate."

Sirius and Remus both paled. Harry meanwhile was glaring at the medallion. In that small little piece of silver was a piece of the man who had killed his parents. He wanted to reach in its little cage and tear that fragment to pieces. Grind it into proverbial dust and set them ablaze.

"Calm yourself Harry." His mother chide him, wrapping her arm around him tighter. "Don't let your emotions rule you. Besides…I think our roommates are getting a little chilly in here."

Giving himself a shake, Harry looked over towards the other three inhabitants of the room. All three were shivering slightly and Sirius was breathing into his hand, apparently marveling at the fact that he could see his own breath.

As his anger subsided, Harry found himself suddenly become extremely cold. "M-m-mother…wa-was that…"

"Yes Harry," his mother cooed pulling him tighter against her. "You did good fighting it back son. Apparently I've been lacking in that portion of your training. But I promise to rectify that soon."

"What in Merlin's name was that?" Remus asked no longer shaking.

"That was…Merlin that felt just like when we walked into the bank." Sirius added still shivering slightly. "Only…heavier. Good Merlin it felt like I was going to die there for a moment."

Harry leaned into his mother more fighting against the urge to shiver more. He was stronger than that. He wouldn't let the Dark side affect him so. "That was Harry manifesting the Dark side of the Force." His mother answered. "Do not worry too much. I was expecting this to happen sooner or later and now that he knows what the Dark side truly feels like we can work on controlling it. Now Kreacher, inform your Master how it is that you came into possession of a piece of Voldemort's soul."

Harry tuned out whatever Kreacher was saying in favor or burrowing himself further into his mother's embrace. This wasn't the first time he'd used the Dark side, his mother often showed encouraged him to use it during their training. But he didn't understand why it felt so…so wrong this time.

"It's because this time your fear and anger over came you." His mother said quietly making him look up into her green eyes. "You weren't trying to control it or direct it. You were just allowing your anger to run free."

Swallowing Harry lowered his eyes. "Mother…I don't know if I can-"

"Don't." The harshness in his mother's voice made him look up at her. "Don't ever doubt yourself Harry. That doubt will create a crack that the Dark side will exploit. Only those who stand in the darkness without fear or doubt can truly control it. You are strong enough. You will not fail. Now say it."

Taking in a breath Harry nodded. "I am strong enough mother. And I will not fail."

Pulling away from his mother enough he saw that Kreacher had finished telling his tale. Sirius was now sitting down with his head in his hands and Remus was patting him on the back. "Why?" Sirius asked, his voice muffled by his hands. "Why didn't you tell me Kreacher? All those years of hating my brother. And in the end he redeemed himself. Why didn't you tell me?"

Harry swore that Kreacher actually scoffed at his godfather. "Kreacher tried to tell Master about kind Master Regulus. But Master never want to hear. Threaten to kick Kreacher down stairs if he did. So Kreacher didn't."

"Okay I get it. I was an arse what else is new?" Sirius sighed looking up from between his fingers towards Harry's mother. "You can destroy it right? Just like you did with…the one in…Harry?"

His mother nodded. "Yes I can. But as you said, right now we need evidence to sway others to our new 'alliance'. We can use this to gain their attention and then destroy it before their eyes to prove our sincerity."

Both men agreed to the plan. "I can make up a guest list. Our best bet to get people to attend will be this New Year's Eve. The turning of the millennium is rather significant to the magical world. And I doubt many would deny a request to join a celebration held by House Black." Sirius grimaced. "Merlin's saggy balls. I swore I would never host of this bloody parties. I'm sure my mother is turning over in her grave in laughter right about now."

"I think a small affair would be for the best at the moment." His mother said standing up from the couch. "There are a two families that I wish to have attend and you may bring another. But that is a discussion that can be saved for tomorrow I think."

Nodding Sirius stood up. Harry could just barely make out the fact that his godfather's eyes were moist in the dim light of the room. "Yeah. You're from a different world and you've been sent by magic to balance it. And my brother wasn't a complete dark bastard in the end. I think that is enough revelations for one day." Walking over to him, Sirius knelt down before him and looked Harry in the eyes. "You going to be alright pup?"

Harry nodded. His mother was right. He couldn't doubt. He could feel the dark side gnawing at the edges of his mind just looking for a way in to control him. But he would not falter. Like his mother he would conquer the dark side. Not fall victim to it.

"Of course he will." Walking up to him, his mother placed the wooden box back into his hands. "Now Harry. Before you sleep tonight I want you to meditate on both Codes. Don't just recite them. Think on them one line at a time. Truly feel them for what they mean my son."

Nodding, Harry hopped up off the couch. "Yes mother."

After a quick good night to both Sirius and Remus, Harry found himself alone in his room. Sitting down cross legged in the middle of the room, Harry placed the box on the floor in front of him and rested his hands on his legs. Figuring that his emotions were already raw, he decided to start with the Sith code.

Remembering his mother's teachings, Harry closed his eyes and brought forth his anger at losing control earlier to the forefront of his mind. _'Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken…the Force shall free me.'_

If his eyes had been opened Harry would've seen the box before him shift slightly as several of the carved runes moved of their own accord.

Keeping his eyes shut, Harry cleared his mind of all thought and emotion. ' _There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.'_

A loud snapping noise broke Harry's mediation and forced his eyes open. The box was open. And lying in the center of it was a long metal cylinder. A lightsaber. Unlike his mother's which was curved, this one was straight and had three raised edges that ran along its length.

Wrapping two hands around the weapon, Harry lifted it out of its case. He could almost feel the power radiating off of it. It was almost seemed as if it was…pleased. Finding the activation switch, Harry bit down on his lip and pressed.

A dark violet almost black blade of light emerged from the hilt. Moving the blade around, Harry closed his eyes and listened to the blade as is sung through the air.

Deactivating the blade, Harry brought the metal hilt up and pressed his lips to it. He was finally a true apprentice to his mother. ' _You better stay a ghost Voldemort.'_ Harry grinned looking down at the weapon in his hand. ' _For the moment you return…I'm going to shove this blade through your heart.'_

* * *

Kneeling in the center of her room, Nox opened her eyes and stared ahead into the darkness that surrounded her. Her son had done it and retrieved Revan's lightsaber. She didn't fight the grin that was steadily crossing her face. She'd designed that box specifically so that only one who was equally light and dark could open it. The fact that Harry could open it meant that not only had her son achieved what few had ever before. But that she had succeeded as well in properly training him. And now it was time for Harry's true training to begin.

* * *

The incorporeal being felt the shift if power. Although it had no idea what it was or where it came from. All it knew was that something had happened. Something that it did not plan for. But as the being was now, it was helpless to figure out what the shift was or what it could mean. It wasn't planning on returning to physical form for some years yet. But this…shift had stirred something within it. Dread? No too strong a word. Fear? Unlikely. Concern? Possibly.

It would have to accelerate its plans and return to physical form far sooner than it wanted. It had been planning on using a fairly complicated ritual to reinforce its physical form. But now there was no time for that. It needed a body fast to counter whatever had sent this disturbance through magic. Unfortunately, there was only one object that he knew that could create a physical form quickly. The only problem was finding the wretched stone.

But first it would need to attract one of its 'followers' to it. A disposable one of course. Not that all of them weren't disposable. But most could still serve a greater purpose than a temporary shell. The only questions that remained was which one wasn't as useful as the rest. And how to get to them.

* * *

Straightening his suit for the tenth time, Sirius glanced once towards the fire place and then again towards the large grandfather clock in the room. "Relax Sirius." Remus said placing a hand on his shoulder. "We're not the one's with the difficult task tonight. We just had to invite the guests."

"Yeah." Sirius winced. "All we have to do is make sure that they don't suddenly start pulling their wands on one another. Nox didn't necessarily invite the most cohesive group to this party. I'm actually surprised that some of them actually agreed to come."

"Why wouldn't they?" Remus asked. "The illusive Lord Black hosts his first ever formal dinner on New Year's eve at the end of the millennium. They than likely agreed to come out of sheer curiosity sake more than anything else."

"Yeah." Sirius breathed turning towards the fire place as it came to life with green flames. "That's kind of what's worrying me."

The first group to come through the floo were a well-dressed middle age couple and their younger daughter, whom at least for the moment had normal shoulder length chestnut brown hair. "Andromeda, Ted and the not so little Nymphadora. How good to see you all again!"

The sixteen year old's hair immediately turned from its normal looking appearance to a short cut, spiky, vibrant red. "I've told you time and time again Uncle! It's either Dora or Tonks!"

"Nymphadora! Mind your manners young lady!"

Dora's hair instantly turned back to its chestnut brown as the young woman shrunk in on herself at her mother's rebuke. "Sorry mum."

"And you Sirius." Andromeda continued rounding on him. "No goading my daughter either."

"Oh Andy I've missed you." Sirius laughed pulling his cousin into a light hug before moving to shake her husband's hand. "Ted, it's been too long ol' chap. I must say, you caused quite a ruckus when you turned down that job at the Ministry last year."

Andy's husband was a muggle born, a fact which had gotten Andy thrown out of the House of Black when they'd married. But after Sirius had taken over the mantle as head of house he'd reinstated Andy and her husband but allowed them to keep their family name. Of course after it got out that Ted was connected formally to House Black, just about every other person who'd shunned him or turned him down were now lining up to kiss his arse.

Laughing slightly, Ted took his offered hand. "Yeah. Still not nearly as entertaining as when you told Malfoy that he would have to kiss your arse in the middle of the Wizengamot before you'd reinstate his son as the Heir of House Black. I heard that the look on his face was utterly priceless."

"That it was Ted." Turning slightly he motioned for Remus to join them. "Andy, Ted. I'm sure you guys recognize Remus."

Andy held out her hand, which Remus respectfully placed a kiss to the back of before shaking hands with Ted. Dora's hair began to shift once more before snapping back into place as she held out her hand in greeting as well.

The fireplace roared green again, making the small group take a step back as two more exited the floo. The two came out almost simultaneously. The first was a small little girl dressed in a light blue dress. The other however made Sirius stand up straighter. "Amelia…it's good to see you again."

Amelia Bones gave him the slightest of smiles, and it might've just been his imagination but he could've sworn he saw the corners of her eyes soften slightly. "We saw each other last week Sirius. I believe it was the same moment in which you loudly informed Lord Malfoy that he would have to kiss your 'bum' before you'd allow his son to be named Heir of House Black. Something of which I believe he is entitled too."

"I meant outside of the Ministry." Sirius said softly. Of all the things he'd regretted in his life…loosing Amelia was definitely up there. "And he is entitled to what I give him. Merlin's blo – sorry. Dora here is more entitled to the title than that little spawn."

Amelia nodded ever so slightly. "Yes well, I'm afraid that our wonderful Minister and his resident toad have kept me more than occupied as of late. They're even talking about slashing the DMLE budget for next year." Holding out her hand the little girl took a step forward. "This is my niece Susan. Susan this is Lord Sirius Black, Mr. Remus Lupin, Mr. Ted Tonks, and Mrs. Andromeda Tonks…and I don't think that I've had the pleasure of meeting your daughter."

"I'm Nymphadora To-whoa!"

Sirius had to cough loudly to cover up the laugh that had escaped him as Dora had managed to trip over nothing and do a perfect face plant before the Head of the DMLE. Who just so happened to be the woman Dora looked up to as an idol. "Amelia…this would be my cousin Nymphadora Tonks." Sirius supplied awkwardly. "She uh, well she's excited to meet her idol I guess. And she wants to become an Auror after Hogwarts."

Amelia looked down at the blushing teen who'd managed to get to her feet but still refused to look up. "Well then, as long as she does well in her classes I will be looking for her name on the registry in a few years' time."

Dora looked as if Christmas had come early. Or rather twice. "I'm one of the top in my year for DADA!" Dora nearly shouted before quieting slightly. "I as get top marks in Charms and Transfiguration. I do well in Runes too! Potions though…well…"

"Not to worry…Nymphadora." Amelia said waving off her concern. "Unfortunately you will not be the first that the Auror department has had to retrain in potions as of late. And I fear that you will not be the last either."

As the fire turned green once more, Sirius escorted everyone to the side for their next guest could arrive. This group was without a doubt the one that Sirius was more anxious about. Although if he were completely honest with himself, he was surprised that they'd even accepted his invitation.

The first out of the fire was a middle aged man with light touches of grey in his brown hair. He was followed closely by a blond haired beauty who could bring a veela to tears. And behind them were two young little girls who were both spitting images of their mother. "Lord Cyrus Greengrass," Sirius greeted bowing slightly in polite greeting. "Lady Evelyn Greengrass. I'm horned that you agreed to come to my little gathering."

Cyrus bowed slightly in greeting while the ladies all gave slight curtsies. "We were horned to receive your invitation as well Lord Black." Cyrus said formally looking around. "Mr. and Mrs. Tonks, a pleasure. And Madam Bones. I must say I am surprised to see you. Pleasantly surprised I assure you Madam.

"Like wise Lord Greengrass." Amelia responded formally shooting Sirius a look he knew all too well.

While the Greengrass's were not formally aligned with the Death Eaters in the last war, they were a renowned pureblood and somewhat dark family. But despite that image, Cyrus had tried his best to keep his family in the neutral block despite the pressure he'd been under from the other pureblood families.

"May we introduce our daughters," Evelyn Greengrass said quickly motioning for the two young girls to step up. "This is our eldest daughter Daphne. And this is our youngest Astoria."

The introductions repeated themselves for several minutes until everyone was once again introduced to one another. "Well," Sirius breathed once everyone was properly introduced. "Now that we have all met may I suggest we retire to the dining hall? We can move onto reason for this little gathering tonight once we're seated."

Taking the lead, Sirius led the group out of the lounge and into the dining hall where a large table had been set for the evening meal. He had to admit, Kreacher had actually somewhat out done himself. Sirius wasn't sure whether it was the party or what was going to happen afterwards that motivated the little bugger. He was just glad it did.

Escorting everyone to their seats, Sirius moved to stand beside his own seat at the head of the table but he didn't sit down. "I must say cousin, Kreacher has truly outdone himself this time. But I fear the old thing might be starting to slip." Andy said pointing to the two empty seats at the table.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Sirius shook his head. "Quite the contrary dear cousin. Our last two guests are just about to enter now."

The door opposite to where they entered opened allowing the last two guests to enter. Both of whom were wearing formal robes. Although Nox seemed to have taken several liberties with her own by tightening and cutting out certain places of her wardrobe to the point where it would without a doubt be considered 'scandalous'. "Ladies and gentlemen. May I introduce Madam Ziri Nox and her adopted son…my godson Harry James Potter."

* * *

Standing in the entrance with her hands on Harry's shoulders, Nox reveled in the chaos she had just created. It had been so long she almost forgot the feeling of it. It was intoxicating…euphoric. The emotions that the small ensemble were giving off was music to her senses.

Of the three youngest girls in the room, two were doing their best impersonations of a fish out of water. Their amazement and awe completely overcoming all other thoughts in their heads. The last of the girls was managing to keep her surprise in check. If only barely. The emotions coming from the elder Greengrass's told her that while the two were surprised, they were also trying to figure out how to turn this situation to their advantage.

The Tonks were a different story. The parents were both completely surprised by their arrival. Surprised and…angered. Although the anger she sensed was directed more at her than at Harry. Their teenage daughter was surprised and…excited…and aroused when Nox felt the teen's eyes on her. That was something she would be able to use in the future.

Madam Bones however was the one she was most impressed with. The witch was surprised of course. But she squashed it down quickly. "What is the meaning of this Sirius!?" The woman shouted, standing fast enough to throw her chair back while simultaneously drawing her wand. The woman was quick…and more than that she had the power to back it up. She would make a great ally. "Why is this…woman…here and not in some cell in Azkaban?!"

Oh yes…quite the fire in this one. "I like her Sirius." Nox said glancing towards Sirius. "I can understand why you were afraid of her rearranging your anatomy. She has more than enough power to do so should she want to."

Coughing, Sirius reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of parchment. "I knew this would happen. So I took the liberty of contacting Gringotts and had a copy of this sent over."

Keeping her wand trained on Nox, Madam Bones reached with her off hand and took the piece of paper. The woman read the paper over. Blinked. Read it again. And then a third time for good measure before lowering her wand slightly and handing the paper off to Sirius's cousin Andromeda, who after reading passed it along to the Greengrass's.

"You transferred magical guardianship of young Harry over to Madam Nox here." Lord Greengrass stated more than asked. "And retroactively as well. So legally…she's been his guardian since November 1st 1991."

"Which means that on paper and according to the letter of the law, Harry Potter was never abducted." Madam Bones ground out through clenched teeth. "Sirius…what is the meaning of this?"

"I came across young Harry here the night his parents were killed." Nox answered guiding Harry over to his seat, which then put Nox right next to the now slightly blushing teen. "With his parents dead I took him in and raised him as my own son. We will be discussing the finer points of what happened shortly. To suffice to say, a few months ago I managed to arrange for Sirius to find us so that the both of us could return to magical Britain."

"My reaction was the same as yours Amelia." Sirius continued once it became clear that Amelia wasn't ready to take her seat just yet. "It took almost two weeks to decide that she had done right by raising Harry. After we returned I took her to Gringotts and did a full guardianship transfer."

"Which means that not only did you arrive to that decision on your own, the Potter Family magic's accepted her as well." Cyrus finished. "Very clever Lord Black. I was beginning to worry that you were completely devoid of all Slytherin traits."

Amelia remained standing for a moment before sitting back down. "You couldn't resist pranking me…could you Sirius? You're going to pay for this. Why didn't you come to me weeks ago?"

Nox laughed out loud at the look of fear that crossed Sirius's face. "Oh yes Sirius I like her. As for why he didn't come to you right away, that was more on my request than out of spite. Harry and I needed to become situated with magical Britain before we revealed ourselves to the public at large."

"Where have you two been?" Ted asked leaning forward. "Sirius looked in just about every magical community throughout the world for Harry. How did you manage to stay hidden?"

"Because they weren't in the magical world." Cyrus Greengrass said drawing everyone's attention. "You're Ziri Nox correct? The CEO and found of Nox Industries in the United States? One, if not the, fast growing muggle business in the world."

Nox was surprised. And so were most of the others in the room. "I'm impressed Lord Greengrass. I was under the impression that most of the magical communities have little to no contact with the larger world."

Cyrus simply shrugged while taking a sip of his wine. "Despite our position as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. House Greengrass has long had ties with the muggle world through trade. There are far too many business opportunities to dismiss the muggles outright as most other purebloods seem to believe. While I cannot say I know how you managed to build such a company so fast, I must praise your ingenuity of hiding the 'Boy-Who-Lived' in the muggle world. As was proven by Lord Black…few if any purebloods would think to look in the muggle world for him."

"The 'Boy-Who-Lived'? Who decided on that ridiculous name for Harry?" Nox asked genuinely interested.

"When Severus Snape handed in Voldemort's wand, the Prior Incantatem was performed immediately and it was discovered that the last spell on the wand was the killing curse. And that Harry Potter was its target." Amelia supplied. "We managed to keep it a state secret for a time. But soon enough the papers somehow caught wind of it and came up with the moniker."

Nox couldn't help but look around curiously. When Amelia had said Voldemort's name the fear in the room spiked. In fact the three little girls were still fidgeting around nervously. "You all fear his name." Nox observed. "Why?"

The adults in the room all fidgeted slightly. "You weren't here during the war Nox." Sirius finally said after a few moments. "Voldemort…he had a habit of showing up whenever and wherever someone said his name. And he always killed whoever did. People began to fear saying his name. And that fear still persists today."

That gave Nox a moments pause. Perhaps she would have to reevaluate her position on this 'Dark Lord'. Apparently he wasn't as foolish as she'd originally thought.

"You're trying to rebuild the old alliance…aren't you Sirius?" Andromeda asked out of nowhere making everyone turn to her. "That would be the only reason to invite this group specifically."

"The Potter's, the Black's, the Greengrass's, and the Bones's." Evelyn Greengrass said looking around. "The four remaining Ancient and Noble Houses of Britain. _If_ we decided to ally outselves with one another we could create a powerful voting bloc in theory. But the question remains. Why should we?"

The woman was good. But not that good. Despite her crystal clear voice, Nox could pick up on the faintest traces of fear and insecurity coming from the woman. Apparently the Greengrass family didn't have quite as firm a hold on their power as they thought they did.

"Let us discuss politics later." Nox said calmly. Eating now would give everyone a chance to think about the offer now that it had been laid down on the table. "Kreacher has prepared an excellent meal and I for one would hate to see it go cold."

"Too true Nox." Sirius agreed before looking upwards slightly. "Kreacher, serve the meal."

Food appeared on everyone's plate, much to the amusement of the young children in the room. Picking up her utensils, Nox began to delicately carve into the metal on her plate. She had to hand it to the little creature. He could put most four star chefs to shame.

As everyone began to eat, Nox took the time to further study her guests. Sirius was a blank slate to her. Over the past two months he had managed to perfect his mental barriers to the point where she could no longer read him unless she riled him up. Remus…well she didn't bother trying to sense anything from him. The wolf within him made for perfect mental barriers. The first and only time she tried to feel him out through the Force she had to quickly retreat before the wolf destroyed her mind.

Andromeda and Ted were both nervous, but no longer angry. Their anger had fled after Sirius explained how they'd transferred guardianship of Harry to her. Instead they were…excited. No doubt if this alliance worked out then they would find themselves in the center of one of the most powerful groups in the country. Nymphadora was excited. Although for a completely different reason than her parents. Her excitement seemed to spike whenever she looked at Remus…but even more so whenever the teen glanced her way. Oh yes…she would have to see where that particular train of thought could lead.

As for Amelia…the Head of the law enforcement was quiet and contemplative. There was intrigue for certain. But it would take a bit of convincing and subtle manipulations to convince the stoic woman to join them. But despite her cold exterior, the woman had a weakness. It was evident whenever she turned and glanced towards Sirius. There was regret. And no small amount of longing. For a moment she was reminded of that pathetic 'couple' on Alderaan. She just hoped that this time it would turn out differently. She would hate to manipulate these two into killing one another.

As for the Greengrass's. They were a quandary. They were excited. Anxious. Scared. And…hopeful. Their emotions were in such a state that Nox was unable to tell whether or not they had even made any headway with the 'dark' family of the group.

Once the meal had been completed and the dishes cleared away, Nox leaned forward on her elbows and looked at each of her guests one at a time. "Perhaps it would be best for the time being if we held this discussion without the children for the moment." Personally, Nox didn't care whether the young ones stayed for this conversation or not. But Sirius had been insistent that they should not be present for certain revelations.

The guests seemed somewhat confused, but each agreed to her request. "Harry…would you be so kind as to show the girls here around the house while we talk politics? I'm sure the girls would appreciate not being bored to death."

"Yes mother." Harry said standing from the table. "Ladies…please follow me."

"You as well Nymphadora." Andromeda said as the three younger ladies rose from the table.

Nymphadora blinked. "But mum-"

"No 'buts' young lady." Andromeda said sharply leaving no room for argument. "If nothing else you can keep them entertained until we're done."

The teen looked like she wanted to argue some more, but a slight shake of Nox's head stopped her. "Fine." Nymphadora sighed dramatically. "Come on wee little ones. Let's go before the adults all start boring us to tears."

The room settled into an unease silence once the children left broken only by the slight creaking of chairs as the eight occupants sized one another up. "I suppose we should start where Lord Greengrass left us." Amelia spoke up ending the silence. "Why should we align? There is no great threat to the wizarding world at the moment. And we are all doing fine on our own."

Picking up her glass, Nox took a slow drink of her wine while she studied the witch. "You're lying to yourself Amelia and you know it. The 'wizarding world' is not in a state of peace and you know it."

"Every year more and more muggleborns and half-bloods are leaving the wizarding world due to the restrictions that have been put in place by the purebloods like the Malfoy's that get worse each year." Sirius added. "Add their departure to the increase in squib's born each year…and let's face it. Our world is dying."

"And whose fault is that Lord Black?" Cyrus asked sarcastically. "Despite our position as an Ancient and Noble house, neither I nor Madam Bones can match the Malfoy's wealth. And that was before they aligned themselves with the Nott's and Flint's. You were the only one who could've slowed him down. But you haven't been here. And despite how well your proxy has done…he is not you."

"You can't seriously be blaming me for-"

"Gentlemen!" Nox shouted standing from her seat. Despite her pleasure at seeing others at each other's throats, she neither had the time nor the patience for it at the moment. "And the present political state is only a symptom of our problems."

Taking her seat once more, she snapped her fingers. The Black Family pensieve appeared in the center of the table making more than a few of the occupants start slightly. "A pensieve?" Ted asked leaning forward. "Read about them…never actually seen one though."

Rising from her seat again, Nox withdrew her wand from its holster and stir the contents of the bowl once. "As I told Sirius a few weeks ago. I could talk till I was blue in the face and not convince you of the truth. Instead I intend to show you."

Sirius was the first to rise from his seat, although his next action was not planned but certainly appreciated. "I, Sirius Orion Black, do hereby swear on my magic that I have examined everything you are about to see and have confirmed that it is completely authentic. _Lumos._ " Showing that the spell had indeed worked Sirius then twisted his wand and cancelled the spell. _"Nox._ "

"What are you going to show us?" Amelia asked standing from her seat and holding her hand over the bowl.

"The past." Nox said as the others rose and held out their hands. "And a possible future."

* * *

Roaring with laughter, Harry fell off the couch clutching at his stomach. After learning that Nymphadora, or Dora or Tonks as she preferred to be called, was something called a metamorphagus he'd asked for a demonstration. Which was why her face now resembled that of a duck. Bill and all.

"Oh Merlin! That's funny!" Astoria laughed falling onto the floor right next to him.

Susan wasn't too far behind the two of them, but she at least managed to stay up on the couch instead of falling off. Daphne was the only one who was not cracking up. That was at least until Dora morphed her face from a duck to a pig and 'oinked' at the girl. That had Daphne curling up right next to Susan.

"Oh god…you're funny Dora!" Harry laughed somehow managing to get back up onto the couch. "You must be popular at school!"

Harry nearly blanched at the complete one-eighty Dora's emotions did. One moment she was happy and the next…she was sad. A nearly suffocating sadness. "I – I don't really have any friends at school. Well at least outside of my house. We Puff's stay together. For the most part at least."

Before Harry could question her, Susan jumped in. "You're in Hufflepuff?! That's the house my aunt was in!"

Dora nodded, and Harry felt some of her sadness ebb away. "It's a great house. Unfortunately we get looked down on a lot. Mostly by the Griff's and Snakes. I guess the Ravens would too if they ever got their noses out of their books."

"What do griff's, snakes, ravens, and…Puff's have to do with houses?" Harry asked feeling slightly left out.

"Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff are the Four Houses of Hogwarts." Daphne supplied. "Named so after the Four Founders of Hogwarts. During your first year you're sorted into one of the houses based on your personality."

"Hufflepuff for loyalty. Slytherin for cunning. Ravenclaw for knowledge. And Gryffindor for courage." Dora finished.

Harry scratched the back of his head. "If…Hufflepuff? Yes, Hufflepuff stands for loyalty then why would people look down on them?"

"It's because the people in Hufflepuff don't usually stand out all that much Harry." Susan answered with a shrug. "My Aunt is one of the first Hufflepuff's in a long time to truly make a name for herself."

' _Harry. Bring the girls to the training room. It's time for our little demonstration.'_

 _'Yes mother.'_

A soft hand shaking his arm made Harry blink. Dora was practically nose to nose with him "Harry? You alright? You kind of spaced out on us there."

"I'm alright." He said standing. "Come on. My mother wants us all to meet up with her and the others in the training room."

"How do you know that?" Daphne asked curiously. "Your mother isn't in the room…and I didn't hear anything."

Harry pointed towards his forehead. "My mother and I can talk to each other no matter how far apart we are." Four jaws dropped at that. _'Ha! Prank accomplished Sirius!'_ "Come on. No need to get the old folks waiting."

* * *

Within the dining hall the pensieve that was sitting on the table shook once before eight people emerged from its depths. Five of whom looked completely pale. "Feel free to throw up." Sirius said without humor reaching for the bottle of fire whiskey that was on the table and pouring himself a large drink. "Merlin knows I did."

The glass was less than halfway to his lips before it was snatched out of his hands by Amelia. Who promptly threw it back in one toss. "Dear Merlin." Amelia breathed as her face turned red and steam shot out her ears.

"That's one way of putting it." Cyrus said taking a shot for himself before passing the bottle over to his wife who declined. "Voldemort's not dead. This woman is not from this planet and she's the magically adoptive mother of the Boy-Who-Lived. Whatever I was expecting to learn tonight…those were not it."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Amelia demanded rounding on Nox. "You've known for nearly a decade that Voldemort wasn't dead. Why didn't you tell the Ministry?"

Taking the offered bottle, Nox took a long drink enjoying the warming sensation of the liquor for a moment before answering. "And tell me Amelia, what happened once Voldemort was reported dead? His followers turned on one another with a vengeance. Voldemort's power base is now almost completely fractured. But if I had made it public knowledge that Voldemort was still alive…well first off who would believe me without seeing what you've just seen? Odds are that no one would. Except for his followers. And what would they do? Instead of fracturing they would band together and work in the shadows waiting for his return."

Amelia nodded, albeit reluctantly. "You have a point…but still you should've informed the Ministry."

"Oh come off it Amelia." Cyrus sighed. "You have to know how corrupt our current government is. Malfoy must've spent a small fortune bribing official's to avoid Azkaban. Not to mention the fact that our current Minister can't even take a shite without Malfoy's say so. No. If the Ministry is made aware of the fact that Voldemort is alive then you can guarantee that Malfoy, and in extension every Death Eater who avoided Azkaban, will know within an hour."

"Which means we have to strike out on our own." Sirius concluded. "Sorry Amelia. I know how much you want to believe in the Ministry. But you have to acknowledge the corruption that has taken hold."

Amelia stay silent for a few moments longer. Letting out a low sigh the woman nodded. "Alright."

"I'm sorry…despite what we've just seen I'm still having trouble believing it." Andromeda said as Ted came up and wrapped an arm around her. "If you have any other proof then-"

"We do." Nox answered quickly. "Kreacher! It's time."

The house elf popped into existence right next to her. In his hands he was holding the locket. "Thank you Kreacher." She said lifting the locket with the Force. "You may stay here if you wish. Ladies and gentlemen…I give you one of Voldemort's Horcrux's."

Nox swore she could've heard a pin drop as everyone stared wide eyed at the locket. That was until Ted blurted out, "holy Morgana's tits! That's Slyterin's locket!" The man then turned a deep shade of red. "Um…sorry about that."

While most of the other's looked shocked, Cyrus looked furious. "That…that fraud! He dare befoul one of Slytherin's last remaining relics in such a fashion?! He who dared call himself Slytherin's descendent? The utter fool!"

Amelia overcame her shock quickly and turned towards Nox. "Where did you find this?"

Sirius coughed and raised his hand. "Actually…it's been here in Grimmuald place since before the end of the war." Pausing, Sirius turned towards Andromeda. "Regulus. He turned traitor at the end of the war. Voldemort apparently entrusted him with the protection of it. Instead he sacrificed himself to retrieve it and then order Kreacher to destroy it."

"Which he never could." Nox finished.

"That's because the method for destroying a Horcrux was lost as well as the knowledge on how to create them. With good reason as well." Amelia said glaring at the locket.

Lady Greengrass hummed. "So that leaves us with a quandary. How exactly do we destroy this if the method to do so has been lost on purpose?"

Using the Force, Nox guided the locket over to the table. "Luckily, I happen to be a subject matter expert when it comes to the spiritual realm." Taking a steadying breath, Nox opened herself to the Force. "Now then ladies and gentlemen…allow me to show you how to destroy a Horcrux."

With the Force Walking ritual, Nox was able to form a connection to the presence within the locket. And just like before she found herself in a realm surrounded in shifting blackness. A small mutate creature lying on the ground covered in chains and screaming at her intrusion. Kneeling down next to the creature she placed her forefinger against the creatures head. "Complain all you want you fool. It didn't save you before…and it will not save you now." And just like eight years ago, the soul fragment dissolved under her finger as it screamed in agony.

With a shake of her head, Nox found herself back in the dining hall of Grimmuald Place. And was greeted with seven stunned witches and wizards. And one giddy elder house elf. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you destroy a soul fragment."

"I want you to formalize the betrothal agreement between Harry and Daphne." Cyrus said suddenly. "Do so, and you will have the support of House Greengrass."

Nox slowly shook her head. "I will not barter with my son's heart Cyrus." Tilting her head slightly, she felt something strange coming from the man. Fear. Not fear of her. But fear _for_ his daughter. "You're afraid. Not of me or for yourself. But for your daughter. Why?"

Finding himself on the receiving end of everyone's attention, his wife's being the most curios and violent of which, Cyrus started to fidget. "Near the end of the war I was approached by Lucius." He began with a sigh. "I was given two options, if I failed to do either he assured me that a certain interested party would be paying my manner a visit. So I was either force to publicly declare my House for the pureblood faction or… enter my daughter into an Old World marriage contract with his eldest son."

Nox wasn't quite sure what the ramifications of an 'Old World' marriage contract was. But given the paling of all the others in the room she guessed it wasn't good. "You bastard!" Evelyn shouted slapping her husband hard across the face. Yup…definitely not good. "How could you possibly submit our daughter to that!?"

"What choice did I have Evelyn?" Cyrus shouted right back. "If I declared for the purebloods then I would've been forced to take the mark and what would've happened to us then? Or if I denied them…then Voldemort would've come for us."

"Why didn't you go to the DMLE?" Amelia asked. "We could've protected you from both."

"Ha. No chance." Cyrus chuckled. "How many were there that died after being offered 'protection'? You weren't head yet, but I heard second hand that Voldemort liked to send pieces of 'protected' person's back to the Head of the DMLE. So sorry, that wasn't an option."

"Forgive my lack of knowledge, but what is an 'Old World marriage contract'?" Nox asked.

"It's fate worse than death for a young woman." Andromeda answered. "Basically it ensures that at the age of eighteen the woman loses all senses of self. She becomes wholly and solely devoted to her husband. Basically a slave."

Now Nox wanted to slap the man. Having been a slave…and not a well-treated one at that. She had come to abhor all forms of slavery. Which had risen to more than a few disputes with her fellow Sith Lords over the years. "And how will becoming betrothed to Harry fix the problem?"

"Because one of the ways to break such a marriage contract is to betroth the girl in question to a boy of higher standing." Sirius answered.

Nodding Cyrus continued where Sirius left off. "Yes. And there are only two boys at the moment who would be eligible for that to work. Harry and Neville Longbottom. And honestly…the dowager of House Longbottom would rather skin me alive than have a conversation with me. So the long and short of it is this. Without securing my daughter's freedom…I will not be part of this 'alliance'."

"Maybe there's another way." Remus said speaking for the first time in a while.

Cyrus scoffed. "I've looked. There isn't."

"Apparently not hard enough." Remus shrugged. "She can become a magical apprentice. That would make her ineligible to any magical contracts, existing or otherwise. Permanently."

"The act of taking an apprentice has long since gone out of favor." Evelyn sighed. "I fear that it is no longer a viable option."

"Not quite." Sirius said smirking in Nox's direction. "We just happen to have in our midst someone who comes from a culture that revolves around a Master/Apprentice relationship. Don't we Nox?"

Nox glared at Sirius. The man had backed her into a corner. At the moment she wasn't sure if she wanted to knock his lights out or screw him silly right there on the floor. Cyrus however gained a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "You…you can take my daughter as a formal apprentice?"

"Yes." Nox said shooting Sirius a glare that made the man's smile falter slightly. "Your daughter has potential. And she is not too old. So I believe I can train her in the ways of the Force."

"The 'Force'?" Ted questioned. "Is that what you're people call it? Looked like magic to me."

"In essence it is." Nox admitted. "In theory anyone who can use magic can use the Force and vice versa. The difference between the two applications however comes from where we draw our power from."

"How so?" Amelia asked obviously curious.

"Remus has told me that witches and wizards have what you call a magical core, correct?" Nox began. "Think of your magical core as a lake. From this lake there runs a river, the conduit of which your magic flows. Upstream of the lake there is a dam which allows the lake to refill subconsciously. Use too much of your stored power before it can refill and you will face magical exhaustion or worse from what I've been told.

"Force users simply do not have that dam that regulates the refilling of our cores. We pull our power from our surroundings or emotions. So, where a witch or wizard has a dam, then a lake, then a river. Force users simply have a river that flows freely."

"That…that would be near limitless power then." Cyrus breathed.

Nox nodded. "In theory yes. But in practice no. The amount of power you can conduit is dependent on the width and depth of your 'river'. Some are born with larger 'rivers' than others. But with practice and experience the 'river' will widen allowing the individual to become more powerful. But there is still a risk. Pull on too much power, and you will overflow your river and drown the surrounding woods. In short…you can die."

Nox could sense that all of the adults save for Remus and Sirius were surprised. "Why did you say 'she's not too old'?" Amelia asked. "What does age have to do with this…way of magic?"

"It's because their magical cores aren't stabilized yet." Remus answered. "The reason kids don't study until elven is because that is when it is believed their cores are stable enough. Once the core is stabilized it becomes harder to transition. Trust me on this. She's been showing Sirius and I some tricks…and I swear it's harder than trying to complete all your OWLS and NEWTS in under an hour."

Cyrus turned to his wife and the two held a silent conversation. "I want a demonstration." Cyrus said after a moment.

Grinning, Nox nodded. "Then a demonstration you shall have."

' _Harry. Bring the girls to the training room. It's time for our little demonstration.'_

 _'Yes mother.'_

"Harry will bring the girls to the training room." She said drawing more confused looks. "Please follow me. Oh, and Kreacher. You may keep the locket as a reminder of Regulus if you wish."

"Kind Mistress…thank you."

Leading the group of eight through the house, Nox opened the door to the training room only to find Harry and the girls had beaten them there. At the moment Harry was showing the girls the muntuur stones. "Mother!" Harry said turning towards her. "I was just showing the girls the muntuur stones."

"I can see that son." She said turning to the others. "These stones are used for training your power. They are also a good indication of your current strength. Lord Greengrass. Please try to lift as many as you can with your magic."

Pulling out his wand, Cyrus stepped forward. With a swish and a flick one of the stones slowly began to rise. But that was as far as he got as it was quickly dropped with a grunt from Cyrus. "Dear Morgana…it'd be impossible to lift all seven!"

"Only because you believe it to be so." Nox smirked. "Madam Bones, if you would."

Stepping forward, Amelia leveled her wand at the seven stones. The woman began grunting and a light sheen of sweat began to crest her brow as two stones lifted clear off the floor and a third began to move before all dropped to the ground. "That…dear Merlin that's difficult."

Without having to be called upon, Sirius stepped forward. "Just to let you all know," he said drawing his wand. "Before Nox showed me a few tricks I could only lift one stone."

Nox could feel the faintest trickles of the Force as Sirius leveled his wand. The first two stones lifted clear off the ground with little hesitation. A third soon joined them making Sirius grunt. As the forth began to move all of the stones dropped. "And that is as far as I can go." Sirius breathed heavily.

"Harry," she said stunning everyone. "You're turn."

"He can't do magic!" Amelia shouted as Harry stepped up. "He doesn't have a – a…wand…dear Merlin."

Lifting his hand, Harry channeled the Force easily lifting the first stone up off the ground a few inches. He managed to get the second stone just barely off the floor before they dropped. "I forgot to mention." Nox said turning to the stunned guests. "Some of our abilities can be considered 'wandless'. Like levitation for instance. And we train more than just our Force abilities, or magic if you will. Harry. To the jump poles."

Without hesitation Harry sprinted to the other side of the room where seven poles standing twenty feet in the air and varying in width from a foot across to a few inches waited. When Harry was a dozen paces from the largest pole he jumped, flipped in midair and landed perfectly atop the pole. "Side flip to the next Harry." Nox called out, to which Harry flipped sideways without looking onto the next pole. "Good. Now come down."

While Harry made his way back, Nox turned to the others. All of the adults save for Sirius and Remus were completely stunned. And the four girls were all staring at Harry in opened mouth shock. "And there is one last aspect to Force training. Sirius, Remus. I will need your help for this demonstration."

Knowing what was coming, the two men nodded. Remus conjured a training dummy while Sirius conjured a black cloth which he then tied around Harry's eyes. Without prompting, Harry spun several times in a tight circle before snapping his right hand out to the side. Nox wasn't quite sure what surprised the spectators more. The metal hilt appearing from his wand holster, or the dark purple blade that emerged from it.

Drawing her own wand, Nox began to circle Harry along with Remus and Sirius. Without warning Sirius snapped off a stinging spell towards Harry's back.

Pivoting perfectly, Harry deflected the spell off of his lightsaber and into the conjured targets chest. For the next five minutes the trio shot stinging spells at Harry, often two at a time. Whatever Harry deflected hit the target dead center. Those that he couldn't deflect he dodged.

"Enough." Nox said after Harry deflected one last spell right into the dummy's head.

Deactivating his lightsaber, Harry took off his blindfold. "Was that enough mother?"

Turning back to their guests, Nox nearly laughed at their expressions. "Yes son. You did perfectly. Now Lord Greengrass…shall I take your daughter as my apprentice?"

All Cyrus could manage was a slight nod. "Yes…Daphne. Do you want to-"

"Yes!" Daphne shouted, showing her age for the first time that day as she bounced on her toes. "Please please please!"

"Okay." Cyrus chuckled. "We can make it official tomorrow. But Daphne you will be Madam Nox's apprentice."

Then something happened that Nox had not anticipate. "Susan." Amelia called out to her niece. "Do you wish to become an apprentice as well?"

The smile that came across the girls face nearly spilt it in two. "Yes Aunt Amelia!"

"Can she be taught?" Amelia asked turning to face Nox.

Nox looked over at Susan. The young girl was bouncing slightly in anticipation. Her potential wasn't as strong as Daphne's. But there was still potential. "Yes. I will take her as my apprentice."

"Me too! Umm, please."

Everyone turned to Nypmhadora, whose face and hair were now a matching shade of red. Stepping up to her, Nox took careful stock of the girl. "I can teach you a few things Nypmhadora…but I cannot fully train you in the ways of the Force." She said making Nymphadora's face fall. "At best I can teach you a few skills that will help augment your natural magical abilities much like I am doing with Sirius and Remus. But you will never be at the same Force level as Harry or the girls. Best you focus hard on your magical studies."

Nymphadora bit her lip. "But…I can still come over and see you – I mean learn from you. Right?"

Nox nodded, smirking as she felt the feelings bubbling up from the girl. "Of course." Turing to the two younger girls that were soon to be her apprentices, she beckoned them forward. "Kneel girls."

The two girls looked at one another for a moment before going down onto one knee before her. Walking up to them she placed a hand on either's head. "Do you vow to heed my teachings? To only disclose my teachings to those worthy? To obey me as an Apprentice should obey? Do you two so vow?"

"Yes, master."

"Yes…master."

The moment the two girls gave their acknowledgement, Nox felt an almost violent shifting in the Force. The Force…was pleased. And that made Nox grin. She'd found her second and third apprentice.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: 1 Pound = 1.39 USD ; 5 Pounds = 1 Galleon. Changing this to be 10 Pounds = 1 Galleon or 13.9 USD = 1 Galleon. So a wand which is 7 Galleons would equal 70 Pounds or 97.30 USD.**

 **Quick thank you to everyone who reviewed/added to favorites/alerted to the last chapter. The response to this story has absolutely floored me! I'm glad that you're all enjoying it so much!**

 **This chapter was slightly difficult to write the latter half as I put in a significant time skip. The reason for this is because I want to get the timeline moving because a lot of what I have planned starts to rev up after year 2. And seeing as how this story is already the length of the Philosopher's Stone…yeah we need to keep things moving.**

 **I had a question regarding the length of the overall story in the reviews. I know what is going to happen and when in this story, but things pop up and you can't always accurately predict length. I can say this. At a minimum there will be at least another 13-15 chapters more than likely more. And at 10k a chapter roughly…I would say this story should round out at about 250K. But as I said, that is on the low side of an estimate.**

 **As to the Wizengamot. On wikia it says that the Wizengamot is made up of 50 members plus the Minister of Magic, Undersecretary, Youth representative, so 53 total members.**

 **Please keep the reviews coming! Let me know what you guys think. Critiques, suggestions, hints, corrections, something you want to see…whatever have you I welcome it as long as you're polite.**

 **Chapter 6**

Walking through the halls of the Ministry, Albus Dumbledore couldn't help the feeling of trepidation he was feeling. This was one meeting of the Wizengamot that he was not looking forward too. Being the first meeting of the New Year, let alone the new millennium, it would set the tone for the rest of the year. And by the looks of things, it would not be a tone favoring the light at all despite his best efforts.

The darker families had pushed a bill forward late at the end of the last year that would essentially block any and all muggleborns or half-bloods from attaining a position within the Ministry. Be it the Aurors, the Department of Mystery, the Hit Wizards, even a position as a grounds keeper would be denied to them. While he would preferred that the bill never see the light of day, the harsh reality of the situation was that there were too many who agreed with the bill for it not to pass. So he had spent more than a few restless nights trying his best to curb the bill.

He managed to get the section dealing with half-bloods all but removed from the bill. They would be able to obtain entry level positons without problem within the Ministry, but higher level positons would be harder for them to obtain and they would have to prove at least two generations of magical ancestry on one side of the family.

Muggleborns would still be allowed into Ministry positions, but they would require a purebloods backing in order to do so. That concession would work for both sides. The darker families would never support a muggleborn so they got what they wanted. And the few pureblood families that sided with Dumbledore would be able to gain recognition by sponsoring a bright young witch or wizard.

Of course there were some families that would never agree with the bill. The Weasley's being one of them. But their softness for muggleborns and muggles in general was what had cost them their seat in the Wizengamot back at the end of the Second World War when they tried to shelter muggleborns who'd fought with Grindelwald.

Walking through the doors to the wizengamot chambers the talking within the chamber instantly died down. As the Chief Warlock his arrival meant the start of the session. The chamber itself was bowl like in structure with two main components. The upper layer of the bowl where the members sat in a circle. And the lower level, which was just an empty floor space reserved for those who were speaking to the Wizengamot. Walking around the upper rim of the chamber, Dumbledore sat down in his seat next to the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, his Undersecretary Delores Umbridge, the Ministry Youth Representative, and the Court Scribe.

As soon as he took his seat the Court Scribe stood up. "The first meeting of the Wizengamot of the new millennium is hereby called to order. I shall now read the minutes of the last meeting of the previous year held on December 2nd 1999."

As the scribe read through his notes, Dumbledore looked around the chamber. He was mildly surprised to find Amelia Bones sitting in her house seat instead of her seat as the Head of the DMLE. More than likely this meant that she intended to vote on the days propositions as the Head of House Bones instead of the Head of the DMLE. A bold move.

He continued his searching of the crowd, taking careful note of who seemed to be paying attention and where they were sitting. As he moved along he almost snapped his neck as he caught sight of an unexpected person. Sirius Black was back and sitting in his House Seat. The last he'd heard, Sirius had once again gone off searching for Harry and hadn't been seen in some time. He must've come up empty handed again wherever he'd gone too.

Not that Sirius was the only one who'd been failing in their search for young Harry. Dumbledore had spent just about every spare minute he'd had over the past eight years trying to find the boy. He'd tried every type of tracing or locating spell he could think of to no avail. He'd even tried sending an owl post to Harry. When that failed he tried to send Fawkes. Which also proved ineffective as his familiar spent nearly a week searching with no sign. Whoever was hiding the young boy was incredibly gifted that was for sure. No doubt it was this 'pillar' the prophecy spoke of.

With all other possibilities exhausted he was forced to wait until Harry's eleventh birthday when he would be able to send his Hogwarts letter to him. The Hogwarts letter system was set up by the Founders themselves and contained incredible magic. And to date there was no known countermeasures to block them. He could only hope that once he found the boy he would be able to undo whatever this 'pillar' had done to him. Harry had a destiny ahead of him. A destiny he must meet for the good of the wizarding world.

Just as he was about to move on from Sirius he noticed something. Sirius wasn't alone. There was a woman sitting next to Sirius who seemed to be paying close attention to everything that the court scribe was saying. Having guests at a Wizengamot meeting wasn't exactly unheard of…but it was extremely rare.

Wanting to know who the woman was, he met the corner of her eye and sent a gentle wave legilimency towards her. Her eyes immediately snapped to his and he felt himself thrown from her mind violently enough that he was rocked back slightly in his chair. The woman then winked at him. Good Merlin…who was she? He hadn't encounter an occlumencer that skilled since…well ever.

"-concludes the minutes of the last meeting."

"Thank you Scribe Montigue." Dumbledore said refocusing on the meeting. He would learn what he could about the woman later. "I know open the floor to any pressing issues or announcements from the members of the Wizengamot. Any who wish to speak please raise your wand now."

The only one to raise their wand was Sirius Black. No doubt to give his yearly recount of his trying to find young Harry and a request for more assistance. Licking his lips, Dumbledore nodded. "The Wizengamot recognizes Lord Sirius Orion Black of House Black."

"My thanks Chief Warlock." Sirius intoned standing. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot. As you all know ever since my release from my unlawful imprisonment eight years ago I have spent every moment possible trying to locate my godson, Harry James Potter. To my utter shame, I have failed for a long time to locate him. But today, in front of this esteemed body of witches and wizards, I am pleased to say that I have not only found my godson. But that Harry James Potter is once more residing in Britain in my family's ancestral home."  
Dumbledore, and the majority of the Wizengamot for that matter, stared at Lord Black for several moments as they all tried to comprehend just what had happened. And then there was utter pandemonium as just about every witch and wizard in the chamber started yelling at once.

* * *

Leaning back in her seat, Nox had to fight to not start laughing. She was halfway across the galaxy…and politics never changed no matter which society she immersed herself in. Be it in the non-Force sensitive side of this world or the Force sensitive side. After several minutes of shouting, during which she actually did laugh when an elder man punched another, the old man who presided over the meeting raised his wand and set off a sonic boom. "Silence!" The old man, Dumbledore she mused, shouted. "Lord Black. Please explain yourself."

Beside her, Sirius was digging his finger in his ear trying to get some sense of hearing back. It was only because Nox had sensed Dumbledore's intent that she managed to get a small shield over her ears in time. Seriously…what kind of fool detonates a sonic boom in an enclosed room underground?

"Yes," Sirius winced still fingering his ear. "As I was saying. I managed to find my godson and the one who'd taken him almost three months ago-"

"And you are just now informing us?" A platinum blond man asked calmly. At least his voice was calm. Underneath that his emotions were raging like a typhoon. "And I take it that the one who took our savior is now is Azkaban? Or have you failed in your duties to House Potter once again?"

"I have not failed Lord Malfoy." Sirius replied calmly. Nox had to hand it to him, Sirius managed to keep his composure despite the jab. "But no, the woman who took young Harry is not in Azkaban. Her name is Madam Ziri Nox. She is both the adoptive mother and magical guardian of Harry Potter. And she is sitting right here next to me."

Once again there was silence followed quickly by pandemonium. Nox hadn't had this much fun in ages. It took Dumbledore setting off another sonic boom, which she managed to block out once again, to silence the calls for her immediate imprisonment. "I trust Lord Black that you have an explanation for your actions?" Dumbledore said setting his wand back down.

"I can speak for myself." Nox said standing and reaching into her robes. One aspect that she enjoyed about the wizarding world was being able to once again wear her Sith robes without being questioned. Although Sirius had told her that the cuts in her lower robes that exposed all of her legs would be considered more than slightly scandalous, she didn't really care. Pulling out a piece of parchment she waved it about. "This is a copy the guardianship form from the House Potter's genealogy book held within Gringotts. It states clearly that I am Harry Potter's magical guardian. And that I have been so for some time now."

"May I see that?" Amelia said loudly as a slightly portly man looked about to protest her.

The Court Scribe hurried down from his position and crossed the middle of the room towards her. After she handed him the scroll he made his way back to Amelia and handed it to her. Amelia made a good show of reading over the document carefully before handing it off to the scribe who made his way over to the portly man. "It's authentic Minister Cornelius." Amelia said as the newly named Cornelius read the parchment over and over. "Madam Nox here is, and has been, Harry Potter's magical guardian since the day Sirius was sent off to Azkaban back in 1991. By our own laws, a magical guardian cannot kidnap their charge. And unless you are saying that she fooled both the goblins and the House Potter family magic's…then we have no legal recourse to hold her."

The portly looking man looked as if he'd just eaten a whole lemon, rind and all, as he handed the paper over to the woman next to him, who looked as if she were a spawn of a hutt and an unfortunate human.

"Despite her guardianship of the Potter Heir, how do we know she truly has the best intentions for the boy?" Cyrus Greengrass spoke up. Just as they had planned. "While I do not doubt her right of guardianship, how do we know she is not simply after the Potter Families fortune and power?"

Nox smirked. "For those of you actually brave enough to stick your nose into the non-magical world, you would know that I am the founder and CEO of one of the most profitable companies in the world. I have no need for House Potters fortune as I can easily match and surpass it."

That statement drew quite a few gasps. Although whether it was from her proclamation of being able to match the Potter's family wealth or the fact that she just admitted that she was based out of the non-magical world.

"Hem hem." Nox had to blink as the hutt like woman stood up and cleared her throat loudly. Despite the womans…cheery disposition. There was nothing but darkness beneath her façade. "If I understand you correctly…Madam Nox. Are you saying that you raised the Boy-Who-Lived in the muggle world away from his peers and away from the Ministry who deserved to be kept apprised of his whereabouts? If so…then I question your ability to properly raise the Wizarding world's hero and move that he is removed from your care immediately and placed with a proper pureblood family. One who will raise him right. Not with some…muggle."

The woman, whoever she was, had just fallen right into Nox's set up perfectly. Snapping her left hand, her wand shot out into her palm. "I am no muggle. And I can prove it." She and Sirius had several discussions about how she was going to prove she was capable of magic. In the end she'd decided to go with the typical Sith approach. Shock and awe. _"Expecto patronum."_

This spell had taken her no small amount of time to master. In the end it was the memory of the few stolen moments she had on Korriban with Ashara after her defeat of Thanaton and her ascension to the Dark Council. Bright light exploded from the tip of her wand as a fully corporeal avian sprung forth. The first time she'd correctly performed this spell, she'd been confused as to the creature's identity. It'd taken Remus to tell her that it was in fact a phoenix. A creature she had stumbled across in one of the many texts in the Black Library and became instantly fascinated with.

Her blue phoenix made a completely lap around the chamber before coming to a rest atop her shoulder. "Any more questions as to my ability to raise my son?"

When none spoke up, Sirius stood once more. "I vote that we let this matter drop and recognize Madam Ziri Nox as the rightful adoptive mother and magical guardian of Harry James Potter. And that we allow her to take her rightful place as the House Potter proxy to the Wizengamot until Harry comes of age."

"Second." A voice Nox didn't recognize called out.

Dumbledore looked like he'd just eaten something particularly sour. "Very well…Gringotts and Lord Black has confirmed your guardianship. Then we have no legal recourse to hold the seat any longer. Madam Nox…the Potter House seat is yours until Harry comes of age."

"My thanks." Nox said with a mocking bow to the old man before turning back to Sirius and taking her seat once more.

"Are there any others that need to be heard?" Dumbledore asked once she'd sat down. When no one spoke up he then continued on. "Very well. Then we shall hereby vote on the 'Ministry Employment Restriction Bill' that was proposed and ratified last December. Madam Nox, do you require time to familiarize yourself with the proposition?"  
"No need," she said waving her hand dismissively. "Lord Black was kind enough to lend me his copy."

"Very well." Dumbledore nodded. "I now open the floor for last remarks regarding the proposition. Is there anyone who wishes to speak on behalf the proposition?"

"Aye."

"The Wizengamot recognizes Lord Parkinson. At your leisure Lord Parkinson."

A slightly elder man who looked far too full of himself stood up on the opposite side of the chamber from Nox. "Esteemed members of the Wizengamot. I urge you to recognize this proposition for what it is. We are not trying to stop muggleborns from entering our society. We are merely trying to keep our rich and old traditions alive. The muggleborns will still be given the same chance for employment as any other young witch or wizard as long as they prove themselves capable of upholding our traditions. Thank you Chief Warlock."

Dumbledore, along with most of the Wizengamot, clapped as the man sat down. "I now open the floor to any who oppose the proposition. Is there anyone who wishes to speak against the proposition?"

"Yes."

Every eye in the chamber snapped towards her as if she'd said the room was of fire. "Madam Nox…" Dumbledore stammered. Clearly he wasn't expecting anyone to stand up against the farce. "Ehm. The Wizengamot recognizes Madam Nox, proxy to House Potter."

Standing from her seat Nox looked around. Most of the members were looking at her with hostility. But there were a few mixed within the crowd that were curious. "This…proposition as you call it. Is nothing more than an overreaction to a simple problem motivated by fear. Is it truly the muggleborn's fault that they do not fully understand our culture when we ourselves do not take the time to properly educate them? But instead of trying to integrate them into our society we shun them. Force them out. This proposition will only force more and more witches and wizards to leave. And by forcing them to receive the recommendation of a pureblood family, you are turning these muggleborns into something no better than a slave. Their achievements will not be their own. Everything they do will be dependent on the family who sponsors them. So I urge you all. Do not give into your fear and vote this proposition down."

Taking her seat once more, she noticed that several reporters had run out of the chamber. Good. Her message would get out. More than likely slanted of course. But hopefully those with even half a brain would be able to read between the lines.

"Thank you, Madam Nox." Dumbledore said lightly clapping. He was the only one. "I now put the proposition to a vote. Given the nature of this proposition, two-thirds majority is needed for it to pass. Will those wishing to abstain from voting please raise your wands."

Nox looked across the chamber towards Cyrus Greengrass.

 _-Flashback-_

 _"You want me to abstain from voting? Why?"_

 _Sitting in the dining hall with Sirius, Amelia, and Cyrus. Nox gently swirled her wine around her glass. "Because Cyrus, this bill has been artfully crafted." Nox said setting her wine down. "It will stop almost all muggleborns from obtaining any type of position within the Ministry, a win for the purebloods and darker families. Yet, at the same time it will allow them employment as long as they have the support of a pureblood family. Who of course will gain any credit for their achievements. A win for the light sided and neutrals. And without any muggleborns to support them in the voting hall…this proposition simply won't fail."_

 _"That still doesn't explain why you want Cyrus to abstain from voting." Amelia pressed, her wine still untouched. "If we are truly forming a neutral party. We should vote as one."_

 _"You're neutral Amelia." Nox pointed out. "At the moment Sirius has been known only as a 'light' wizard and I am an unknown. If Cyrus suddenly sides with us without warning then we may lose potential allies of his who will jump ship because of his sudden change. No, we must make our moves slowly. Plus this way we can find out who is truly loyal to Cyrus and who isn't."_

 _-End Flashback-_

With the briefest of nods in her direction, Cyrus raised his wand. A moment later several other wands were raised as well. Although several seemed to be doing so quite hesitantly.

"Thank you." Dumbledore said. "Now will those against the proposition please raise their wands."

Nox's wand, as well as Sirius's and Amelia's, were some of the first wands raised. To Nox's amazement they weren't alone either. A good handful or more were in the air and for the first time she was starting to wonder if her plan would backfire on her. Perhaps she did a little too good a job with her speech.

Nodding along, Dumbledore signaled for their wands to go down. "Thank you. Now will those for the proposition please raise their wands."

The majority of the wands in the chamber were raised into the air. Including the Minister's and the hutt woman's. "Thank you for your votes." Dumbledore said as all the wands were lowered. "Court Scribe. Will you please read the results?"

"Yes Chief Warlock." Standing the Scribe made a show of it by clearing his throat dramatically. "In regards to the 'Ministry Employment Restriction Bill'. The Wizengamot has voted thusly. Abstaining: seven votes. Against: nine votes. For: thirty-seven votes. By a margin of two votes the bill is hereby passed into law."

Leaning back in her seat Nox let out a low breath. That was closer than she wanted. But it did give her a good clue as to potential future allies. And now that the proposition had pass, Amelia, Sirius, and herself would be able to gain favor amongst the muggleborns by offering sponsorship that would be far more generous that the ones coming from some of the more idiotic houses.

The rest of the meeting passed by almost painfully slowly. Her time amongst the Dark Council had gotten her used to sitting for hours on end listening to potential laws, grievances, or whatever else a Darth had to bitch and complain about. But at least during those meetings there was a good chance that someone would end up dying by the end. Usually rather gruesomely. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of a chance of that happening here.

It was almost a mercy when Dumbledore called the meeting to an end. "And with that I hereby declare the first meeting of the Wizengamot of the new millennium adjourned."

Standing up with Sirius, Nox placed her hands on her lower back and bent backwards. "By the Force…that was boring."

Sirius could only nod in response. "My father used to tell me that he carried a solid golden quill into these meetings. He would hold it in his hand and whenever he started to nod off he would drop it and it would wake him up. I think I might have to start doing that as well."

As the two of them exited the chamber, with only the briefest of nods towards Amelia and Cyrus, Nox began counting down in her head. ' _Five. Four. Three. Two. One.'_

"Lord Black. Madam Nox. A word if you will."

' _Like clockwork. So predictable.'_

Turning, the two found themselves face to face with Albus Dumbledore. "Chief Warlock." Nox greeted smiling falsely. "How pleasant to finally meet you. I trust your head isn't hurting you too much?"

Dumbledore's lips turned upwards into a smile. A false one. One that Nox had seen time and time before. "Yes…I must apologize for that misunderstanding."

"Are you apologizing because of your actions? Or because you got caught red handed as it were?"

His smile faltered for just a brief moment. "For my actions of course. I fear my curiosity got the better of me for a moment and I couldn't help myself."

Nox just shrugged. "The non-magical's have a saying for that Chief Warlock. 'Curiosity killed the cat'."

This time Dumbledore's smile slipped more than slightly. "I'll keep that in mind. Sirius…I must say that was quite the entrance you gave us all."

"You know me Dumbledore, always the showman." Sirius smirked.

"Yes…I remember you and James gave poor Minerva more than a few near heart attacks." Dumbledore chuckled. "I wonder if you both would do me this small favor of checking up on young Harry. I promised his parents a long time ago to make sure that he was well cared for in case the worst should come to pass."

"My son is perfectly fine." Nox said levelly, leaving no room for argument. "He is actually quite the little genius. And extremely powerful. If his bouts of 'accidental magic' are any clue. I'm sure you will see that for yourself when he goes to Hogwarts next year."

Dumbledore stared at her, and Nox was almost inviting him to try and probe her mind once more. This time she wouldn't let him go with just a slight headache. "I see." The old man said after another moment. "Well then…I'm glad that young Harry has such a _pillar_ of support in you Madam." Nox couldn't help but blink and freeze slightly at his accentuation of word pillar. "My, look at the time. I fear I have an appointment with the Minister. I look forward to working with you in the future Madam Nox, Lord Black. And please, should either of you two ever wish to speak I am always open for having guest at the castle. The house elves truly do make the best sweets. Good day to you both."

Nox had just managed to rearrange herself by the time Dumbledore had left. She had given him what he wanted and so he'd made a hasty retreat. ' _Clever bastard.'_

Not even waiting to see if Sirius was following her, Nox marched through the halls of the Ministry towards the atrium. She barely even hesitated before throwing a handful of floo powder into the fire place and walking into the green flames. "Merlin Nox!" Sirius breathed heavily emerging from the floo into the sitting room of Grimmuald place a moment after she did. "Want to tell me what the bloody hell just-"

"Dumbledore knows something." She said sharply. "I underestimated the old coot. And now he's gone and gotten one up on me."

Sirius blinked dumbly at her. "Okay…you're going to have to explain that one to me. Nice and slow please."

Dropping down into the couch, Nox took several steadying breaths. "During my brief time on the Dark Council, I made a name for myself rather quickly. I was one of the most powerful Darth's in the Empire so I became known as one of the three 'pillars' of the Empire. Dumbledore just referred to me as a 'pillar'. Not casually either. He used it as if it were my title. He knows something. He might not fully understand what he knows, but he knows something."

"Shite." Sirius breathed dropping into the seat across from her. "So now what?"

Rubbing her temples, Nox dreaded what was coming. Not because of the action per se. But because it was coming about sooner than she'd wanted. "We need to get someone inside Dumbledore's inner circle."

Sirius blinked. "Okay…not an easy task. Remus and I both kind of burned every bridge imaginable with him and I doubt he would believe it if we suddenly showed up saying 'hi honey I'm home'."

"We won't have to send someone." Nox replied. "I recognize his type. He needs to be in control. He needs to know. We, well I more than you, are an unknown. Something he can't and won't have. He will try and create an agent within our ranks."

"Who?" Sirius asked leaning forward. "There's no weak link. And he doesn't know about our partnership with Amelia or Cyrus yet."

"There is one." Nox said lifting a single finger. "One to whom he can offer entitlements, positions, recommendations, Force maybe even an apprenticeship to one of his Auror friends."

Nox could see the wheels starting to turn in Sirius's head. "Merlin…you think that he'll try to turn Dora against us?"

"Yes."

Letting out an impressive string of curses, Sirius stood up and began pacing. "How do you know?"

"Because it is what I would do." Nox answered. "And he has already succeeded in turning one member of House Black against his family. Who's to say he wouldn't be successful again?"

"Dora won't turn against us."

"I know that. You know that. She knows that." Standing from her seat Nox began to walk up to Sirius. "But let us hope that Dumbledore doesn't know that."

"Why?"

"Because then he will try with someone else. Someone we don't know about and someone we may not be able to use as a double agent. In the meantime the two of us will have to work with her whenever we can to strengthen her mental defenses. That old coot is a natural mind reader." She said walking past him and towards the training room. "Now if you'll excuse me Sirius, I have several apprentices that have been without guidance for most of the day. I need to make sure they aren't slacking off."

* * *

Sitting in his office within the Ministry and enjoying a small glass of pure malt whiskey, Cyrus Greengrass was waiting for his 'guest' to arrive. Although guest was not the correct term. A guest implied that the visitor was welcome. This visitor was anything but welcome in Cyrus's eyes.

When the time finally came, his visitor didn't even bother to knock on his door. They simply walked in as if they owned Cyrus. Which until just recently wasn't far from the truth. "Cyrus. I trust that you have a good explanation for your actions earlier."

Finishing of the rest of his glass, Cyrus fought the urge to simply hex the man out of his office. "Lucius. It's usually polite to knock before entering someone else's office. And as for earlier…I voted the way that I wanted. I do not need to explain my actions to you."

The Wizengamot meeting had gone exactly like Nox had predicted. The bill had passed. And more than likely tomorrow's paper would state how Nox and Sirius had led the charge against the bill. Of course they would be slandered, but everyone would know that they were proponents of the muggleborns amongst the pureblood families. And with him voting to abstain, his true connection with Nox and Sirius would remain a secret for the moment. What had surprised him most of all though was just how many Houses voted to abstain. Apparently he had more support than he originally thought.

"You voted how you wanted?" Lucius mildly raged. It was refreshing to see the usually calm man flustered. "You nearly cost us this bill Cyrus. I hope you have a good explanation. Otherwise…I cannot promise that your daughter will become anything more than a plaything upon her majority."

Standing from his desk, Cyrus poured himself another drink. Morgana save him from simply killing this man on the spot. Nox had plans for Lucius in the long game. And if Harry's power level was anything to judge by…the last thing he would ever want or do in his life would be to go against that woman. Going back to his desk, he pulled a scroll out from one of his drawers and threw it at Lucius. "That is the last time you ever threaten my daughter you piece of filth."

Lucius blinked, then quickly unrolled the scroll and read it. "This is from Gringotts...the betrothal agreement between our two families is…null and void."

Leaning back, Cyrus took a slow drink from his glass. The look on Lucius face was nearly priceless. "That's right."

Lucius stared down at the voided contract for several long moments before his eyes lit up. "Potter…you engaged your daughter to the Potter boy. That is the only way you could've voided this contract!"  
Snorting, Cyrus set his glass down. "Please. As if I'd lower myself to go begging to a boy and his muggle loving whore of an adoptive mother." Please Morgana…never let Nox learn that he'd called her that. "No. There are other ways to negate a marriage contract."

"Name one."

"A formal magical apprentice."

Lucius blinked. Obviously that was something he'd never considered. Although honestly, Cyrus had never considered it a viable option before either due to its rarity. "With whom?" Lucius sneered.

"That is not your concern." Cyrus said with a dismissive wave. "What does matter…is that I've confirmed that several Houses still follow House Greengrass. Not you. And if you want my vote…then you will have to pay for it. And don't think for a moment that I'm going to be generous."

"You're getting ahead of yourself Cyrus." Lucius said with a smirk. "You still have another daughter. She will satisfy the marriage contract just as well as your eldest."

"Now you are the one getting ahead of themselves Lucius." Cyrus responded quickly. "Perhaps you should've read the contract over more closely. I specifically stated 'Daphne' in the contract for this exact reason. To put it into small words for you…you can no longer touch either of my daughters."  
Lucius looked absolutely apocalyptic. "This will not end well for you Cyrus."

Cyrus couldn't help it any longer and let out a low laugh. "Oh Lucius. Who's going to threaten me? You? You're of a lower House than I. Your Master is long gone. Killed by a child no less. Morgana…it's a wonder we all feared that man in the first place." Holding up his hand he silenced Lucius from saying more. "I am no longer your slave Lucius. You want my vote, and the vote of the House's I control? And today proved that I do still control several houses. Then you will either have to pay extremely handsomely, and not just in galleons. Or you will have to make on hell of a proposition. I believe we're done here. Go back to your pretty little manner and pout like you did so well back in school."

Lucius stood stock still just within his office for several moments longer before snarling and turning on heel. ' _Dear Morgana.'_ Cyrus smiled seeing the door shut on Lucius. ' _That felt so much better than I thought it would. Maybe I should invite Madam Nox and Lord Black over for dinner. I owe them for this.'_

* * *

 **-Time Skip to 2001-**

 _ **"-for the Dark side of the Force is an eternal exercise in controlled chaos. The less you try and control the more power you will obtain. But one must be forever vigilant to never lose your knowledge of self. For left unchecked for too long, the Dark side shall run rampart and destroy whatever sense of self you have. Leaving you as nothing more than a mindless wandering husk that will destroy whatever stands in your path. Be it friend or foe."**_

Kneeling on the floor of the training room with his eyes closed, Harry let the words of Darth Marr flow through him. A year and a half. That was how long it had been since his mother had taken on two more apprentices. At first Harry had been more than slightly upset at the prospect. Nox was his mother. His Master. What right did those two girls have to come in and take her from him?

For several weeks he managed to keep a hold on his temper as he watched his mother and Master carefully instruct the girls while he was often left alone to meditate, go through forms, or to read.

His anger finally got the better of him after three weeks. He was sparing with Susan and his mother was coaching the young girl. The moment came when his mother had congratulated Susan on a parry…but she had yet to say anything to him. He didn't even remember snapping. All he remembered was pressing his attack against the girl and landing a crushing blow to her stomach which had her toppled over. But he hadn't stopped there. While she was downed he'd raised his blade to strike at her unprotected back. Mercifully his blow hadn't landed as his mother had pulled the girl out of the way. His broken training sword and the broken floorboards gave testament to just what would've happened had she'd been on the receiving end.

Amelia was furious of course. She'd wanted to pull Susan out right away and never look back. It was only by Susan begging to stay that the elder woman relented. Sirius and Remus were furious at him as well and had spent nearly a day a piece yelling at him. But the worst…the worst was his mother. She didn't yell. She didn't berate. She just…ignored him. And the look in her eye's whenever they turned to him. The disappointment he saw in her gaze. It cut far deeper than any scolding ever could.

He was locked in his room for a week following that stunt. No lightsaber. No books. No holocrons. No training. Nothing to keep him company but his own thoughts.

When he was finally let out he rushed past everyone and fell to his knees before Susan begging for her forgiveness. As he sat on his knees before her, everything came out. His frustrations, his jealousy, everything he'd been feeling since Susan and Daphne became his mother's second and third apprentice. She forgave him. Although he wasn't entirely sure about the sincerity of it because he'd done it in front of everyone and by the time she forgave him she was completely red in the face.

After his apology his mother had pulled him aside. She said that she was impressed by his sincerity, but she was still slightly disappointed in him. It had been her hope that when she took the two girls on that he would help train them. Instead of helping however he had gone off and sulked and grew angry. He promised to do better. But she had dismissed his promise by telling him that words were fickle. And if he truly meant it he would have to show it.

After that things improved remarkably and Harry found that he actually came to enjoy having others to train with. It was fun being able to learn with others and he found it even more enjoyable to teach them.

Susan was an incredibly hard worker and had a good sense of humor and was a natural at Form VI Niman. As for Daphne…Daphne was wicked smart. And after his mother had taught her how to absorb knowledge through Force means, the girl had torn through the books in the library at a pace rivaled only by his mother. And she seemed to have taken a liking to Form II Makashi.

"There he is! See I told you that he would be here!"

"You also said that he would be in his room. The library. The shower. And the lounge if I remember correctly."

"Details…what matters is that I was right!"

With a wave of his hand the holocron closed up forming a small fist sized pyramid. Turning around he found Daphne and Susan just within the entry way of the training room. Harry wasn't quite sure when it happened, but some time ago he had stopped seeing the two girls as his mother's apprentice and had actually come to see them as his…friends. A concept that was both amazing and frightening at the same time as he'd never had true friends before in his young life.

"Daphne. Susan. What are you two doing here?"

The two girls stopped. Stared at him. Then at each other. Then back at him. "No." Susan said shaking her head. "There is no way he could've forgotten. Could he?"

"Of course he didn't." Daphne replied giving Harry a flat look. "No one would forget their birthday. Let alone their eleventh birthday."

Picking up the holocron, Harry walked it back over to the small bookshelf that his mother and Sirius had constructed. The shelf was flush with the wall and instead of shelves, the bookcase was filled with small drawers. And within each drawer contained one of the many holocron's his mother had brought with her. Not all of them of course. She did keep a few number hidden even from him. And each drawer was magically locked so he or the girls could only have access to certain holocrons at a time.

Once the holocron was placed back into the only open drawer, the drawer closed automatically. "Of course I didn't forget." Harry said lightly. After all he was eleven today. It was a day he had been both anticipating and dreading for months now.

"You're dreading getting your Hogwarts letter. Aren't you Harry?" Daphne asked tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Never can get much past you huh Daphne?" Harry responded rhetorically. Daphne had an almost natural ability for sensing other's emotions. His mother claimed she was an empath. And more often than not, Harry cursed her ability to read him so easily.

"You're dreading your Hogwarts letter? Why?" Susan nearly screeched. "Hogwarts is the best! Haven't you been listening to Tonks? It's going to be awesome!"

Harry nodded grudgingly. "Yeah…Hogwarts does sound awesome. But…"

"But you've never been separated from your mother." Daphne finished for him.

Harry swatted at the girl, which she was easily able to side step. "Stop reading me Daph."

One of Daphne's eye brows rose. She hated when he called her that. "Then stop broadcasting your feelings so readily Har-Har."

"Hey! You know I hate that name."

"And I hate Daph. So don't use it and I'll return the favor."

"…Daph."

"Har-Har."

"Good Merlin get a room you two! Daphne and Harry sittin' on a broom. S-N-O-G-G-I-N-G."

"Shut it Susie!"

Susan started laughing out loud as a steadily reddening Harry and slightly red faced Daphne hurried through the house towards the dining hall. The moment Harry stepped through he was greeted with an almost deafening, "Happy Birthday Harry!"

The dining hall had been completely decorated with several banners that read 'Happy Birthday Harry' floating around the room. In the center of the table was a multilayer cake brightly decorated with streaks of red, green, blue, and yellow. Standing around the table were his mother, Sirius, Remus, Madam Bones, Lord and Lady Greengrass, Mr. and Mrs. Tonks, and Tonks herself who at the moment had long vibrant pink colored hair.

Just as he was about to say 'thanks' a small blur rushed across the room and slammed headlong into him. "Happy birthday Harry!"

"Hey there Astoria." Harry laughed giving the little girl a brief hug back before she pulled away from him.

"Where were you hiding?" Astoria demanded, putting on her best 'mother' look.

Ever since his mother had taken Daphne and Susan as apprentices, Astoria had been a constant figure in the house. She had begged, several times on her hands and knees, to be taken as an apprentice by Nox. Unfortunately, his mother had to deny her request as having three apprentices was pushing it for her. But in exchanged, and with Lord and Lady Greengrass's approval, she had named Astoria an acolyte. Or an apprentice in training as it were. After that, the little girl had started to try and emulate his mother in just about every way imaginable. The way she talked, walked, and held herself. Or at least emulate as well as a nine year old could.

"Where do you think Astoria?" Daphne asked walking past her sister.

Astoria scowled at him. "You need to get your nose out of that room sometime Harry."

"He's just shy about being the center of attention." Susan remarked leaning up against him. "Don't worry Harry, we'll protect you from the big bad party."

Across the room Tonks started laughing. "Merlin Harry…three pretty young witches hanging off your arm already. And you aren't even in school yet! You'll be the envy of every boy at Hogwarts in a few years!"

"I'm so proud." Sirius mock cried. "A coven of witches at his call before the age of elven. _Sniff_. James would be so proud!"

"No more jokes at my son's expense." His mother said, cuffing Sirius upside the head.

"Hey! They started it!" Sirius yelled rubbing the back of his head. "Why don't you hit Dora?"

"Because she's prettier than you." His mother answered quickly before turning back to him. "Now come Harry. Everyone is here for you after all. It would be rude to ignore them."

"Yes! Come on Harry!" Astoria yelled latching onto his arm and pulling him towards the cake and pointing towards the single candle atop the cake. "Make a wish!"

Looking at the candle, Harry thought for a moment and then waved his hand. "Hey! No fair!" Astoria pouted. "You can't use ma – the Force! You need to blow it out!"

"The candle is out either way Astoria." Daphne said stepping between the two and physically separating them. "Now stop pestering the birthday boy."

"Speaking of…here Harry! Open mine first!" Susan shouted pushing a brightly wrapped gift into his hands. "Aunt Amelia helped me pick it out."

Smiling at his friend's enthusiasm, Harry opened his first gift. " _Dueling Spells and Tactics, an Auror's Guide._ " Harry read off the cover of the book as he unwrapped it.

"That book is standard issue for all Aurors in training." Madam Bones explained. "Susan thought it would be a good gift for you. She said you like pretty much any book you can get your hands on. And I figure that is one that isn't in the Black Family library as I seem to recall your godfather using his copy for target practice during his brief training period."

"I like it." Harry said, which made Susan breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank you Susan. Thank you Madam Bones."

Tonks was the next one up. Her gift looking remarkably similar to Susan's in shape. "Figured you could use this as well." Tonks said as Harry began unwrapping it. "Don't know why it isn't on the book list. But that lil' book made potions infinitely easier after I read it."

" _1001 Potion Ingredients and How they React to Each Other._ _"_ Harry read. Potion's had been one of the subjects that fascinated Harry, but the stories he'd heard from Tonks about the professor teaching the subject, his excitement had dimmed. "Thanks Tonks"

Next was a very expensive stationary set complete with his initials from the Greengrass's. And then a book on advanced defensive magic from Remus.

"Now I know that you can't have one of these at school during your first year pup." Sirius said handing him a long thin box. "But no reason why you can't use one here at home."

Opening the present, Harry was greeted with the sight of a long freshly polished broom with Nimbus 2002 embroidered on the handle. Ever since Sirius had taken him for a ride on a broom a year ago, Harry had become obsessed with flying. And the trip they took to watch the wizarding sport quidditch certainty didn't help matters.

"Whoa…" Harry breathed. "This is awesome! Thanks Sirius!"

Lastly was his mother, who presented him with a large trunk that had his name stamped onto the front in gold letters. "This is a multi-dimensional trunk Harry." She explained as he looked it over with awe. "It has three main compartments. One for clothes. One for books. And one for school supplies. There is also a fourth compartment which can only be opened by you."

Letting his mother guide him, Harry touched several seemingly random places on the trunk. When his fingers brushed against the main lock, a side panel on the trunk opened with a click and a small drawer rolled out. Harry's eyes widened as he looked down at the drawers contents. There were three holocrons sitting in the drawer. One Sith and two Jedi.

"I expect you three to keep up on your Force studies despite being at Hogwarts." His mother said drawing his attention away from the holocrons. "But you must protect these at all costs Harry. No one except you three can even know that you have these. Do you understand?"

"Yes mother."

"Yes Master."

"Yes Master."

"Can we eat cake now?"

Everyone laughed as Astoria steadily flushed red. "Almost." His mother said holding out a letting for him. "This came in the mail for you today Harry."

Taking the letter from his mother Harry flipped it over and broke the large wax 'H' seal on the back. "'Dear Mr. Potter. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts Scholl of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term beings on 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than August 1st. Yours sincerely, Minverva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress'."

The rest of the day passed by in a blur after Harry read his acceptance letter. He remember everyone congratulating him on being accepted into Hogwarts and he remembered the rather embarrassing rendition of happy birthday that Sirius sung to him. But outside of that…he just didn't feel in the mood to celebrate. It was almost a relief when everyone gave their final farewells before making their way through the floo.

"Are you going to tell me what's troubling you Harry?" His mother asked as the last of the guest left leaving only himself and his mother in the room as Sirius and Remus cleaned.

Shifting his feet, Harry couldn't look up at this mother. "Do I have to go mother?"

Feeling her arms circle his shoulders, Harry leaned into his mother as she lightly embraced him. "You don't want to go to Hogwarts?"

"I – I don't know." He answered honestly. "You, Remus and Sirius can teach me everything they could. Why do I have to go? I don't…I don't want to leave you."

"Harry, look at me son." She didn't continue until Harry looked up and met her eyes. "I would be lying if I said that I was thrilled about you leaving me as well son. And while it is true that between the three of us we could probably provide for you an education matching Hogwarts. But there are things that you can learn at Hogwarts that you can't learn here."

"Like what?"

"Like how to stand on your own two feet for one." His mother answered, giving him a soft smile. "I fear that I have done you a disservice with how much I've sheltered you Harry. I haven't allowed you to make your own mistakes or learn from them for the most part. Going to this school, away from me, will allow you to grow Harry. Do you understand?"

Choking up slightly, Harry nodded. "Yes mother."

"Good." Ruffling his hair, his mother leaned in and placed a light kiss to his forehead.

"Everything alright?"

Standing behind them was Sirius. A concerned look plastered across his face. "He's fine." His mother said standing. "Just a little homesick already."

Crossing the room, Sirius knelt down in front of Harry. "You'll be fine Harry." His godfather reassured him. "Trust me. Hogwarts is a magical place. No pun intended. Not to mention, it's a great place to meet some nice pretty young witches. Not that you seem to be having a problem with that. Merlin if your father and I had half your luck pup…"

Harry couldn't help but smile at his godfather. While Harry loved his mother more than anything, it was usually Sirius who knew how to cheer him up the best. "Thanks dog-father."

"Watch it pup." Sirius chuckled pushing Harry slightly. "You might be able to kick my arse but…but… Well I really don't have a follow up to that so let's just pretend I never said anything."

"Too late." His mother smirked, shooting Harry a wink at the same time.

"Great…the two of you will never let me live that one down will you?"

"Nope." They both answered at the same time.

Letting out a sigh, Sirius rubbed at the back of his head. "I got to learn to watch my mouth around you two. I swear it's like James and Lily all over again. The two of them took great pains in constantly reminding me of whatever stupid thing I'd said last."

Feeling a genuine smile come over him, Harry looked down at his Hogwarts letter. "When are we going to go get my school supplies?"

"Tomorrow." Sirius answered. "I'm sure the last thing you want is to have a mob of people running after you. Best to get you're shopping done while there are as few people around as possible."

Nodding Harry folded up his letter. "Okay. I think I'm going to go meditate for the rest of the day."

"Go ahead son." His mother said quickly before Sirius could say anything further. "I'm sure you have a lot on your mind at the time. Take your time, rest. And we will see you in the morning."

"Okay." Walking up to his mother he wrapped her in a tight hug. "Good night mother."

"Good night son."

* * *

The next day the four of Harry along with his mother, Remus, and Sirius all made their way to Diagon Alley. Just as Sirius had predicted, the main shopping hub of the wizarding world was pretty much empty. A fact Harry was more than pleased about as he couldn't help but run from store front to store front to peer inside. This place was just so cool! There were stores for plants, animals, robes, potions, books, and even an ice cream store! Force, there was even a store that sold only brooms!

Their first stop of the day was a store called 'Madam Malkin's', where Harry was fitted for his school robes. A process that was fairly embarrassing as the elder woman who ran the shop had him strip down to his boxers in front of his mother in order to properly fit his clothes. It also didn't help that his mother was constantly picking out different styles of robes for him to try on either. It became even more awkward when Sirius let his name slip and the old woman put two and two together and recognized him. After that she was nearly fawning over him. Offering him the top of the line of every product she had at an almost ridiculous discount. It was a relief when the woman had said that she was done.

After leaving the robe shop they made their way into the apothecaries for potion's supplies and then to another for his astronomy supplies. Although his mother had outright laughed at the later class and said that while mapping the star's was good practice, using them to predict the future was completely ridiculous. Then it was to the books store where it was quite possible is mother had purchased nearly double the number of books Harry had too.

After nearly an entire afternoon of wandering around they had collected everything that Harry needed for Hogwarts save one thing. "Only one thing left now Harry," Sirius said smiling. "Your wand."

Staring up at the old store front, Harry had to run through every Jedi calming trick he knew just to keep himself from bouncing in place. He'd seen what his mother and the others could do with their wands. And he been more than anxious to get his hands on his own.

Opening the door to the store, Harry stepped in and…found the store vacant. "Umm, hello?"

An old man popped up from behind the front desk. His eyes blinking sleepily as if he'd just woken up. Which judging by his wild hair probably wasn't far from the truth. The man looked around from a moment as if trying to figure out who had woken him. When his eyes landed on Harry, they widened and the man sprung up as if he were on fire. "I was wondering when I would be seeing you for the first time Mr. Potter." The man said, smiling more than a little creepily as he stepped around the counter. "Yes yes…I've been most anxious to meet you."

"Mr. Ollivander." Harry's mother greeted taking a step forward. He wouldn't admit it, but he was thankful to his mother for giving him the brief second to compose himself. There was something…off about the wand maker. And it was putting Harry slightly on edge.

Ollivander stopped short of Harry and turned his head towards his mother. "Ah, Madam Nox. Elder tree wood, duel core composed of a phoenix tail feather and threstral tail hair. Quite powerful yes yes. And Lord Black. Twelve inches, ash, dragon heart string, pliable. And Mr. Lupin! Ten and one quarter inch, cypress, unicorn hair, and quite pliable. My my such an interesting grouping today!"

Feeling his mother give him a slight push forward, Harry swallowed his unease and adopted his 'mask' as his mother called it. "Mr. Ollivander. I'm here for my wand."

With a shake of his head, Ollivander turned from the adults and back to Harry. "Yes yes. Starting Hogwarts soon no? Now then…let's see. What hand will you be using Mr. Potter?"

"My left."

While Harry had been working on using his lightsaber with both hands, he was of the same mind as his mother and would prefer not to potential limit his ability.

"Hmmm. Most curious. Never had a Potter who was left handed before. No doubt Madam Nox's influence. Well then, off we go!"

With a snap of his fingers a tape measure began circling Harry of its own accord. The tape measured the distance between his eyes, the length of his nose, the length of his fingers…even the width of his mouth! And the entire time the measure was circling him Harry could feel something invisible pressing against him. But he had no clue what.

Without a word Ollivander turned and walked back into the depths of his isles leaving Harry to be continuously measured by the tape. Strangely enough the pressure against him stopped the moment Ollivander walked out of sight. A minute later he returned with two boxes.

"Let's try this one first." He said opening one of the boxes and pulling out a wand. "Ten and three-quarter inches. Willow. Quite swishy and a unicorn tail hair. Excellent for charms. And an almost exact copy of your mothers. Well, give it a wave!"

Taking the wand from the old man Harry waved the wand…and promptly destroyed a vase that was in the corner. "Nope! Not that one at all." Ollivander said snatching the wand from Harry before pulling out the second wand. "Eleven inches. Mahogany. Dragon heart string core. Pliable and excellent for transfiguration. Just like your fathers."

Carefully taking the second wand from Ollivander, Harry gave it a wave. And three shelves of wands toppled over. "Nope. Nope definitely not."

When Harry felt the slight pressure again, he looked up sharply at Ollivander. It almost…felt like the man was feeling him through the Force. "Ahh, I see you've figured it out now." Ollivander said with a smile before disappearing back into his shelves.

When he came back out he was holding a long black box. Opening the box he handed the wand off to Harry. "Elven inches. Made of holly. Phoenix feather core. Most unusual combination I assure you. Nice and supple. Excellent for defensive spells."

Grabbing hold of his wand, Harry instantly felt like someone had punched him in the gut. The Force flew through him almost violently so in its intensity. It was…incredible. As if he'd finally found a missing piece of himself that he didn't even realize he was missing. "Whoa…"

"Yes yes. Wonderful…and most curious."

"W-what's curious?" Harry asked still recovering from the shock of connecting with his wand.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold and made here Mr. Potter. Every wand. It just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in this wand gave another feather. Just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand…when its brother is the one who took your parents from you."

Harry blinked, then looked down at his wand. His mother had often told him how powerful Sith and Jedi would leave their Force presence's on objects and that they would remain forever attached to the object even in death. "But this wand isn't that one."

"No." Ollivander said shaking his head. "But…it is curious. Two such unusual wands with matching cores…hmm."

"And does it mean anything?" Nox asked stepping forward and placing an arm around him.

To that, Ollivander just shrugged. "Who knows? Could mean they are kindred spirits. Or just as likely mortal enemies. Or perhaps distantly related. The wand chooses the wizard. Yes…I expect we will see great things from you Mr. Potter. Great things."

Ten minutes and twenty galleons later Harry was the owner of his holly and phoenix feather wand as well as two wand holsters. "I think that's it."

"Not quite." His mother said leading him down the street. "We have one last stop to make."

They came to a stop once more outside a shop titled 'Eeylops Owl Emporium'. Dozens of different types of owls were standing in the store front window. "An owl? For mail?"

"Yes, and more." His mother said kneeling down before him. "But you're not going to pick out an owl. I want you to enter the shop and open yourself fully to the Force Harry. I want you to feel the animals around you. Search for a connection but don't force one."

Nodding once, Harry strode into the owl shop. Dozens of barks and screeches greeted him as he walked into the shop. Ignoring the man behind the counter, Harry walked into the center of the shop floor and closed his eyes. Shutting out the hostile feelings and endless screeches that were being directed at him, Harry opened himself fully to the Force. As his mother said he didn't reach out. He simply opened himself and waited.

He didn't have to wait long as a heavy weight landed on his shoulder within minutes of him opening himself. Opening his eyes he found himself staring into the golden eyes of a large snowy owl.

"Don't know if you want that one young man." The owner said coming around the counter just as Nox, Sirius, and Remus entered the store. "She's a feisty one and not for someone your age. If you will I have some excellent owls over here that-"

"No." Harry said without taking his eyes off of the owl. "She's perfect."

The owl blinked at him. And then…it was almost as if he could feel her in his mind. The owl leaned forward and gently nudge his face with her head, and then closed her eyes seemingly perfectly content to stay on his shoulder. "Well done my son." His mother said gently petting his owl, who barely opened one eye enough to see who she was before closing it once more. "I was wondering if you would obtain one."

"One what?"

"A familiar." Sirius answered after dropping more than a few galleons into the shop owner's hands. "Most witches and wizards have owls or cats or some sort of animal pet. But only a small percentage of them can accurately call their pet's a familiar."

"You have a bond with her now Harry." His mother explained as Harry gently stroked the owl's chest. "You opened yourself to the Force and she latched onto your presence. Well done Harry. Very well done."

* * *

Landing on the ground and letting go of his mother's hand, Harry just barely managed to keep himself from doing a face plant. Force…he really hated apparition. "Move along please. We have more incoming."

Grabbing hold of his trunk Harry followed his mother, Sirius, and Remus as they moved past a couple of people large badges on their chest. "Magical Law Enforcement Patrol officers." Sirius explained as the four of them moved along with several other families down a large corridor. "They're in charge of day to day tasks assigned to the DMLE. Usually guard duty at apparition points. And here we are Harry. Platform 9 and ¾."

As they rounded another bend, Harry got his first look at the red and golden express that would take him to Hogwarts. "Whoa…the train…it's completely surrounded with the Force."

"Not really surprising." Remus said as Harry and Nox studied the train. "The train and the tracks are layered with muggle repelling charms and notice-me-not charms. Not to mention shield charms and just about every other protective ward just shy of the fidelius charm."

Making their way towards the train, the group stopped just before one of the small stairways leading into the cars. "Susan and Daphne should already be on board." His mother said, lowering herself to his level. "Sit with them if they are. If not, then hold a cabin for them. I want you three together before you're sorted. Make sure each of the girls have one my 'gifts' with them before you leave the train."

"Yes mother."

"You're sure that you have everything as well?"

"Yes mother." Harry responded as he looked down at his trunk and empty owl cage. He'd sent Hedwig off earlier after sensing from her that she would rather fly than be cooped up for hours.

Her hand came up and cupped the side of his face. Leaning into her touch, Harry closed his eyes and felt his mother both physically and through the Force. Her hand moved to his shoulder and pulled him close. "Do your best my son." She whispered. There was no 'try'. Either do or do not as she always said. "Keep up your training as best you can with the girls. But be ever vigilant. With only four in number we are not ready to reveal ourselves to the world."

Throwing his arms around her, Harry held on tight to his mother. "Yes mother. I won't disappoint you."

"I know you won't Harry." She said leaning back from him. "You are everything and more that I could've hoped for."

Turning from Nox, he embraced Remus and the Sirius. "You'll do well Harry." Remus said patting him on the back.

"Just remember to enjoy yourself too Harry." Sirius said letting him go. "Pull a prank or two. Find a pretty witch to snog and just try to enjoy yourself. Life is far too short to be serious all the time. That's my job."

"No bad habits." Nox said sharply cuffing Sirius upside the head. "But I understand the need for stress relief. So if you must just remember…no getting caught."

"Yes mother." Harry said with a smile.

Picking up the handle of his trunk, Harry made his way up onto the train. With one last look back at his mother, godfather, and pseudo-uncle, Harry set off to find his fellow apprentices.

* * *

Standing on the platform, Nox felt a pain in her chest as the trained pulled further and further into the distance. It was a pain that she had only felt once before. It was the same pain she felt when Ashara had died. Beside her, she could feel Sirius's worry. "Nox…you alright?"

Nodding her head, Nox wiped at a stray tear that had fallen from her eye. "Before I came here…after I came too in the temple. One of the three who told me of this place said that I would obtain that which I have longed for but have been denied. Truthfully…I didn't know what she meant until now."

Sirius looked back and forth between her and the departing train. "A family."

"More than that." She said watching as the train disappeared beyond the horizon. "Before I became Sith…I was a slave. A particular type of slave that I will not speak of. Because of my station I was…permanently sterilized to make sure no unwanted surprises popped up. What I've longed for…was a child of my own."

"I'm sorry Nox."

"Don't be. It is in the past. Nothing I can do can change what happened to me. And Harry…Harry is everything that I could've wanted in a son and more." Taking a slow breath, Nox made sure her mask of indifference was back on her face before turning around. "Let's go. We have work to do."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the short delay on this chapter. Ended up taking a pretty significant section out and moving it to the next chapter. Couple of things of note:**

 **Going to be going through first year kind of fast because honestly, I'm already longer than the first HP book**

 **Going to be skipping quidditch because honestly I don't need the filler material**

 **Because of the fast pace of the first year, there might not be a lot of interaction with Susan and Daphne and for that I appologize**

 **I warned you all at the start, I am avoiding the typical Dark/Grey Harry clichés. And also, keep in mind that Harry might be mature for an eleven year old, but he is still eleven and not a political and evil generous mastermind.**

 **Lastly, I do not have a beta for this story, which I will admit is something I more than likely need. So if anyone is willing to volunteer for the position please PM me and we can chat.**

 **Other than that, I want to say thank you for the reviews, favorites, and alerts. This story has quickly become perhaps my most popular story yet. Please keep the reviews coming. Again suggestions, critiques, wishes, are all welcome. Just be polite. And please enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: *Sorting song taken directly from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I do not own it.**

 **Chapter 7**

Staring out the window of the train, Harry watched silently as they rode through the country side. It was peaceful. Something that Harry desperately needed as he mentally prepared himself for coming year. A year he would be spending mostly without his mother. The woman who had raised him, trained him, and been by his side since she took him from his birth parents house almost a decade ago.

"Harry! Are you even listening to me?"

Blinking, Harry turned back to the other four occupants of the cabin. Susan had been the first to arrive and therefore grabbed the cabin with her friend Hannah Abbott. Of course when Harry entered and revealed himself to be Susan's 'mystery' friend, the young girl had just about shrilled Harry's ears off. The girl's seemingly endless stream of questions only subsided when Daphne arrived with her friend Tracey. Of course, that arrival caused a small moment of awkward silence which lasted for one blessed minute before Tracey screeched at his presence and proceeded to bombard him with just as many questions as Hannah.

"Sorry Hannah." Harry said, not really all that sorry. "What was that last question?"

The blond rolled her eyes. "I asked what house do you think you'll be sorted into?"

Before Harry could answer the door to their compartment opened and a red headed boy stuck his head in. Instantly Harry was struck by a wave of nervousness and surprise from the boy. Although what he was surprised about Harry had no idea.

"Um, excuse me." The boy stammered. "The um…rest of the train is full. Can I – um. Can I sit you all?"

The five occupants of the cabin looked at one another. With a more than slight grimace Daphne moved closer to Harry, almost to the point where they were touching, so that the boy could have the last spot in the cabin. "Help yourself." Daphne said even going so far as to lean towards Harry.

"Thanks!" The boy smiled dropping heavily into the seat. "My names Ron, Ronald Weasley."

"Hannah Abbott."

"Susan Bones."

"Tracey Davis."

"Daphne."

"Harry Potter."

"Bloody hell! Are you really?"

Harry sighed as he felt the joy, surprise, and envy that he felt coming off of the red head. "Yes…I am."

"Do you…do you remember…him?"

Harry's eyes narrowed and Hannah and Tracey looked around clearly confused as the air temperature within the cabin dropped slightly. Daphne's hand on Harry's thigh and Susan's quick glare were the only things that made Harry reel his temper back in. It had been a long time, since his mother had shown him Voldemort's soul container, since he'd lost himself to the dark side even slightly like that. "Do I remember the night when I was just barely one and a half years old and a lunatic entered my parents' home, killed them both, and then tried to kill me? Sorry but I don't."

Ronald, finally showing some semblance of a brain, reddened. "Um, sorry about that. Sometimes I uh, I guess I don't really think. I um…I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."

"Then you shouldn't have asked him about the night his parents died." Daphne said curtly, turning her nose up at him.

Ron opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it as he was met with the full weight of four girls glaring at him. Showing his second bout of intelligence so far, Ron wisely kept his mouth shut.

"So," Susan's glare dissolved and her cheerful face returned as she turned back to Harry. "As Hannah was about to ask. Do you know what house you want to be-"

A loud squeal cut Susan off. Everyone turned towards Ron who was steadily reddening. "Um…sorry about that." Ron said reaching into his robes and pulling out a large rat. "I kind of forgot he was in there."

Considering they were in a cabin full of young girls, the reaction to the sudden appearance of a rat was fairly predictable. Hannah and Tracey both squealed slightly, Susan pressed herself against the window more, and Daphne fixed the young boy with a glare that Harry was certain she learned from his mother. It was only lucky for Ron that neither Harry's, Daphne's nor Susan's owls where in the compartment with them at the time. "Ronald…you are in a cabin full of girls, and Harry. And you pull out a rat without warning?" Daphne said with more than a slight edge to her voice.

At her reprimand, Ron's ears reddened even further. "Um…sorry about that. I probably should've warned you all about him. But don't worry. He's tame and he's been in my family for years and we've never had a problem with him."

"Just as long as he stays on your side of the cabin." Hannah said, still looking decidedly pale at the rodent's presence.

"He'll be fine." Ron said petting the rat. "Hey! One of my brother's taught me a spell that can turn him yellow. Wanna see?"

Before anyone could answer yes or no, Ron had set the rat down on his lap and pulled out his wand. But before he could say a word the cabin door opened once again. This time they were greeted of an extremely bushy haired young girl. "Have any of you seen a toad? Neville here can't find his."

Everyone in the cabin shook their heads, making the girl sigh. That was of course until she spotted Ron holding his wand. "Are you doing magic? Can I see?"

Clearing his throat, Ron pressed the tip of his wand against the rat's back. "Sunshine daisies. Butter mellow…turn this stupid fat rat yellow!" Predictably enough…nothing happened.

"Are you sure that is a real spell?" The young girl asked. "I've been reading as much as I could ever since Madam McGonagall came and told me that I was a witch. And that…really didn't sound like any spell I've read of so far."  
"That's because it isn't a spell." Daphne said, her attention fixed on bushy haired girl. "Are you by chance muggleborn?"

The bushy haired girl nodded. "Yes I – oh! I haven't introduced myself. I'm Hermione Granger. And you all are?"

Introducing themselves, Hermione greeted all of them politely, until they got to him. "I'm Harry Potter."

Hermione blinked. Then took off like a race horse. "God lord are you really? I've read all about you of course! You're in _The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Dark Lords of the 20_ _th_ _Century_! I know all about what happened to you!"

"Really?" Harry sighed. He'd been warned that he might get this kind of reaction when he first met witches and wizards. But he didn't realize at the time just how annoying it would be. "That's interesting. Because I don't remember ever talking to any of the authors of those books. And besides…there were only three people there that night besides my parents. I can't remember anything. Voldemort's dead. And my mother arrived at the very end of what happened. So I wonder how they knew what happened."

Hermione, Ron, Hannah, and Tracey were all looking at him completely awe struck. "What?"

"Harry." Susan sighed. "You said his name again."

Harry actually did sigh this time. Another thing he'd been warned about by his mother, Sirius, Madam Bones, and Lord Greengrass. Pretty much every witch or wizard outside of their little group would not care for it when he so blatantly used Voldemorts name. "Wait…you're mother?" Hermione questioned. "Lily Potter died when…well you know. Unless you mean…oh! You're talking about Madam Ziri Nox! My father just about had a fit when we read about her in the wizarding paper! One of the most powerful business women in the world is a witch. I think that convinced my parents to allow me to come to Hogwarts more than anything else. What house are you hoping for? I'm hoping for Gryffindor…although Ravenclaw would be good as well. Did you know that Dumbledore was a Gryffindor as well? And he's considered to be one of the most powerful wizards since Mer-"

"Hermione." Harry barked startling the girl. "Please…calm down. You were talking so fast we can barely understand you."

Hermione flushed red. "Umm, sorry about that. I sometimes get really excited and umm…I'm going to go and help Neville again. I hope we can talk again later!" And with that, she turned heel and fled the cabin without a backwards glance.

"Mental that one," Ron muttered after the compartment door shut behind Hermione. "Completely mental."

Daphne however was giving Harry a look out of the corner of her eye. His mother had told them to be on the lookout for any potential 'muggleborn' students who they could sponsor. This Hermione had a decent amount of inherent power. She was definitely worth looking into.

For the next half an hour the compartment slid into an easy silence, disturbed only by Ron's occasional attempts to ask Harry questions which were usually answered quickly or deflected by Susan.

As the sky outside began to darken, the compartment door opened again. This time with enough force to actually make it bounce back slightly. He could feel Daphne physical tense beside him as her anger spiked. Standing just within the now open door was a blond haired child flanked on either side by two large boys who looked as if they couldn't even process a thought between the two of them.

"Greengrass…I thought better of you. Sitting with blood traitors."

Harry blinked. Not at the words…but at Daphne. She didn't care for this boy. No. That was too gentle of a description. She absolutely loathed this boy. Whoever he was. "Draco Malfoy." Daphne responded, her voice dripping with ice.

Beside them, Ron snorted which made the blond haired boy round on him. "Think my name is funny do you? Well I don't need to ask for yours. Red hair. And a hand-me-down robe. You're a Weasley through and through. Did your parents give up eating for the month just to send you to Hogwarts?"

"What do you want Malfoy?" Susan sighed.

Malfoy looked Susan over once in a manner that made Harry want to send the little pounce flying backwards. "I've come looking for Harry Potter." Draco said turning towards Harry. "Just wanted to make sure that you're making the right friends. Greengrass is okay…despite recent developments. But you could do far better than sitting with Bones or blood traitorous Weasley's. I can help you there."

Harry stayed where he was and just stared at Draco and his offered hand. "No thanks." Harry said with a dismissive wave. "Pretty sure I can stop people of quality on my own. So go away and bother someone else."

Draco blinked stupidly as confusion rolled off of him. Which was followed quickly by anger and…a touch of fear. Apparently he hadn't been expecting to be turned down. "Hm. Apparently you lack the same sense your parents did. No wonder their dead."

All four girls gasped and Ron paled. Harry merely stared at the boy completely bewildered. "What did you just say?"

Draco smirked. "I said that your parents lacked sense and tried to fight against their own kind. And now look where they are. You'd do better not to follow in their footsteps."

It was extremely fortunate, for Draco that is, that a feminine hand reached out and grabbed a hold of his ear. "Well well. What do we have here? Little cousin Dracy…are you causing problems. Again? I've already had one complaint about you this ride so far. Will I need to send an owl to your father?"

"Don't you dare touch me half-blood!" Draco shouted twisting free of Tonks.

Tonks merely raised an eyebrow at him before pointing to the badge on her robes. "That is either Head Girl Half-blood, or future Lady Black Half-blood little cousin Dracy."

The title of Lady Black had been his mother's idea. Sirius had wanted to claim Harry as his heir, but seeing as how he was now his mother's adopted son, he could no longer be Sirius's chosen Heir. He could inherit the title of House Black through his grandmother Dorea. But technically Draco had the stronger claim through his mother Narcissa, Sirius's cousin. If they were to challenge Harry's claim, there was a good chance they would win. The only one with the better claim was Tonks. It took nearly an hour behind a closed door in order for his mother to convince Tonks to take the title, but she did in the end. Although why Tonks had left the room completely disheveled and red faced was a mystery to Harry.

Draco reddened. "Just wait until my father-"

"Your father can't do shite, little Dracy." Tonks said dismissively. "The Blacks stand above the Malfoy's in the political world. And here at school, I'm Head Girl. So here on the train I have the first, second, and last word. Now why don't you go and be a good little boy and run off now. You need to get changed anyway."

Draco looked like he was about to explode he was so red. Without another word he turned and marched away.

"Bloody hell…that was brilliant!" Ron exclaimed after Draco was out of sight.

"I didn't do that for your amusement." Tonks said looking at Harry.

Harry understood her meaning right away. "I'm fine." Harry said.

"Good." Tonks nodded. "Now Harry you're already in your robes. But um…"

"Ron Weasley."

"Right, Ron. You aren't and we'll be arriving soon so I suggest you change down the hall in the bathroom. Unless of course you plan on changing here in the cabin with the rest of the girls."

Ron's face flushed and he was practically a blur as he pulled out his uniform from his trunk before rushing out down the hall. "Now Harry," Tonks said turning to him. "Unless you feel like watching these fine young witches change, something I no doubt you will be attempting in a few years. Perhaps you should stand out here with me for a few minutes."

Being used to Tonk's teasing, Harry managed to step out of the compartment completely straight faced. The same couldn't be said for Hannah and Tracey however, who both turned beat red and practically slammed the door on him. "That wasn't very nice Tonks."

"Maybe, it was still fun though." Tonks chuckled before pulling out her wand and casting a silencing charm around them. "You need to be careful with that one Harry. He might not look like much, and truthfully isn't, but anything he does comes from his father. And he is someone we need to worry about."

"I'll keep my head about me." Harry promised. "He just…surprised me."

Tonks merely nodded. "You'll be getting a lot of that this year Harry. Watch out for Draco and Snape. While Draco only answer's to his father, Snape takes orders from _both_ Dumbledore and Lucius. And watch out for Dumbledore too. Your mother was right when she said that Dumbledore would give me this position as an attempt to get me over to his side. I've already had one meeting with him, and about half of his well disguised questions were about you."

"I'll be okay Tonks." Harry reassured his cousin. "Just take care of yourself. I know what my mother asked of you isn't easy."

Tonks blushed again slightly, and Harry once again caught onto a feeling coming from her that he couldn't identify. "Yes well…your mother was quite…persuasive. Anyway take care of yourself Harry. I probably won't be able to watch out for you as much as I'd like once we're in school."

"I'll be fine Tonks," Harry said as the cabin door opened slightly to let him know that the girls were done. "Just take care of yourself."

Entering the cabin again, he took his seat once more. A few minutes later Ron came back were a more than slightly baggy robe and took his seat. The rest of the trip was spent in silence until they caught sight of the platform where the train would be stopping. Once the train had come to a full stop the students were all instructed to leave their luggage on the train and disembark.

"First years! Over here!"

The voice on the platform belonged to probably the largest man Harry had ever seen in his life. Based off the stories he'd heard from everyone, this was without a doubt Hagrid. The Grounds Keeper of Hogwarts. And according to Sirius and Remus, one of the most kind hearted men alive despite his size. Although that'd been followed up quickly by him also being labeled one of the worst secret keepers in the world and perhaps one of the biggest supporters of Dumbledore.

When Harry and the girls approached the large man, his eyes widened. "Harry! I havn't seen ya since yer were a wee little tyke."

Harry blinked. "Umm…"

"Oh right, you probably don't remember me eh?" Hagrid chuckled rubbing his beard. "I knew yer parent's Harry. Fine fine folks they were. But oh, now ain't the time. First years follow me to the boats!"

Separating from the rest of the student body, Harry and the rest of the first year students followed Hagrid away from the train and down to a set of docks where dozens of boats waited. "No more than four to a boat!" Hagrid bellowed, taking an entire boat to himself.

Susan, Hanna, Daphne, and Tracey all sat down in a boat together. Leaving Harry to get into one with Ron. "Do you mind if we join you two?"

Hermione was standing on the dock with a nervous looking black haired boy who was shifting his feet back and forth. "Sure." Harry said making room.

"Thank you." Hermione said taking a seat. "This is Neville Longbottom."

Nice to meet you Neville." Harry said offering his hand, which the nervous looking boy just stared at for a moment before quickly shaking and then turning away from him.

"Everyone hold on tight!" Hagrid shouted.

With a slight jerk, the boats began moving across the lake of their own accord with Hagrid's leading the way. As the boats rounded the bend, Harry was treated to his first sight of Hogwarts. It was…magnificent. And not just from an architectural standpoint. It was as if every stone that made up the towering castle had been crafted using the Force…magic. "Bloody hell." Ron gasped behind him. "My brothers told me what to expect…but still...bloody hell."

"Language Ronald." Hermione chided, although her voice was more than slightly dreamy as she stared up at the castle.

"Y'all watch y'er heads now!"

Tearing his eyes away from the castle, Harry saw that Hagrid's boat was entering a small alcove making the larger than normal man nearly bend over in half to avoid hitting his head. Unlike Hagrid though, as the rest of the boats passed into the alcove the students on them only had to move their heads slightly to the side.

Once inside, the boats moved towards a large platform at the base of a large set of stairs. "Alright, watch y'er step now." Hagrid bellowed as he stepped out of his boat and onto the platform.

Ron was the first one out of the boat, followed quickly by Neville who did a face plant right on the platform the moment his feet touched solid ground. Remembering the manners that'd been drilled into him by his mother, Harry turned back to the boat and offered Hermione a hand.

Giving him a quick smile, Hermione took his hand and stepped out of the boat. "At least some boys remember their manners." She grumbled, casting a quick look towards Ron and Neville who were both looking around in awe.

"Alright first ye'rs." Hagrid bellowed once everyone was off the boats. "Head on up the stairs here and Professor McGonagall will be meetin ya at the top!"

Harry made to stand near Daphne, but a subtle shake of her head stopped him. It was time for them to start playing their parts. With a sigh, he fell into step with the rest of the students as they made their way up the stairs.

Near the top of the stair's he spotted an old woman who was dressed pretty much exactly like the stereotypical non-Force sensitive witch costume. "Welcome to Hogwarts." The old woman said as the students reached the top of the stairs. "I am Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. In a few moments I will be taking you to the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your houses. The houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. While you are here your houses will act as your families. Your triumphs will earn your house points. While any rule breaking will lose them. At the end of the year the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. Are there any question before we head in? No. Then please form up in two lines and follow me."

As fate would have it, Harry ended up standing next to Ron as they walked down the wide hallway after the Professor. "Hey Harry…do you think we'll have to wrestle a troll in order to figure out which house we're in? That's what my brothers all said."

' _Force…give me patience.'_ "Are these the same brothers who taught you that color changing spell?"

"Umm…yes."

"Then why do you believe him?"

"…good point. So what do you think will happen?"

Harry just shrugged as the group approached a large set or ornate doors. "No idea. But whatever happens, happens. No sense worrying about it now."

The doors opened on their own as the Professor approached them. The Great Hall certainty lived up to its name. Hundreds of students were sitting at one of four tables that ran the length of the hall. Stain glass windows and banners decorated either side of the hall. And the ceiling…the ceiling was the night sky.

"It's not really the night's sky." He heard Hermione whisper knowingly to the girl she was walking with. "It's just bewitched to look like it. I read all about it in Hogwarts: A History."

As they passed by the last of the tables, Professor McGonagall went off to the side and retrieved a wooden stool and an extremely worn out looking hat. Coming back to the center, she placed the stool down before placing the hat on top. Then to Harry's amazement…the hat started to sign! _Oh you may not think I'm pretty, But don't judge on what you see, I'll eat myself if you can find A smarter hat than me. You can keep your bowlers black, Your top hats sleek and tall, For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat And I can cap them all. There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see, So try me on and I will tell you Where you ought to be. You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart; You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil; Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind; Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends, Those cunning folks use any means To achieve their ends. So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap! You're in safe hands, though I have none, For I'm a Thinking Cap!*_

"As I call your name, please come forward to be sorted." McGonagall said unfurling a scroll. "Abbott, Hannah."

Susan's blond friend pale considerably, but walked forward none the less and sat down on the stool. Once she was seated McGonagall placed the hat on her head. "Hmmm…better be…Hufflepuff!"

The table directly behind Harry started applauding loudly as the hat was taken off of Hannah's head allowing the blond girl to join her new housemates. "Bones, Susan!"

Biting his lip slightly, Harry watched as Susan sat down and let the sorting hat sit on her head. The moment the hat touched her hair, Harry felt a spike of fear and anxiety come from her. The only thing that stopped him from reaching out with the Force and ripping the hat off her head was the look she immediately shot him.

For several long moments the hat just sat atop her head. "Hmm, tricky customer. But I know where to put you. Hufflepuff!"

The table behind Harry exploded once again as Susan took off the hat. She paused only briefly on her way to her new house in order to give him an encouraging nod. "Boot, Terry."

Harry stopped paying attention as a young boy stepped up towards the stool. His sudden lack of attention wasn't because he wasn't interested in what was happening. Far from it in fact. It was because he'd felt something. A feather light touch against his mind's barriers. But the moment he pushed back and attempted to trace the presence it quickly retreated leaving no trace.

There was only one person that he knew of that was capable of such a feat. Someone his mother had warned him about. Immediately he turned his attention to the head table, specifically the Headmaster. Albus Dumbledore. But the Headmaster wasn't even looking at him. And according to his mother, the only type of mind reading required eye contact to be truly effective.

Vaguely he heard the sorting hat yell out a house, students applauding, and then another name being called. But he paid none of it any mind. Instead he made across the head table from one end to the other trying to figure out who had tried to touch his mind.

As his gaze passed by a turban wearing professor he felt the pressure on his mind again. This time he locked eyes with a black haired professor who quickly looked away, which brought an immediate end to the pressure on his mind. The thing that confused Harry though…was that neither of the pressures were the same. Just how many teachers were looking into the minds of their students here?

"Davis, Tracey."

Daphne's blond friend hoped up onto the stool and remained perfectly still as the large hat was placed on her head. "Slytherin!"

The table on the far side of the hall exploded into cheers as the blond girl took of the hat and walked over to her new house.

"Granger, Hermione."

Harry could only shake his head as he heard the bushy haired girl muttering under her breath to relax, as well as several different spells, as she walked up to the stool. Sitting down the sorting hat was placed atop her head. The hat stayed silent for nearly a full minute or two before finally speaking again. "Another fun one…better be…Gryffindor!"

Hermione beamed as she skipped, literally skipped, from the stool to the Gryffindor table. "Greengrass, Daphne."

Harry watched as Daphne strode forward with her head held high. Just as it did with Susan, the moment the hat touched her head it started fidgeting but otherwise stayed completely quiet. After nearly five minutes of silence the hat finally shouted, "Slytherin!"

Listening to the Slyterin table clapping and shouting, Harry watched as Daphne passed him by without even a second glance.

After that Harry stopped paying attention to the sorting. His fellow apprentices were in two different houses, and he wasn't sure where he was going to end up. "Potter, Harry."

Refocusing his attention, Harry walked up to the front of the hall with his head held high. He was vaguely aware of everyone whispering his name and the entire hall went dead silent as he turned and faced them. Sitting down on the wooden stool, Harry remained perfectly still as the large hat was placed over his head. ' _Hmm, now what do we have here?'_

On pure instinct Harry tried to repel the voice within his mind. ' _Oh…another one. Hmm, yes such strange training you've obtained from your 'mother'. Hmm…most interesting indeed. Far more refined than the two young ladies I just sorted…hmm.'_

' _Breathe one word of it hat…and I'll burn you and scatter your ashes.'_

' _And another one to threaten me. Although I must say that the young Slytherin girl had a much better threat than that. But I suppose that I will need to reassure you just as I did those two young ladies. I am the Sorting Hat. I was created for a singular reason and that is to sort your into your house young man. I cannot and will not divulge anything I see in your mind to anyone. Satisfied?'_

' _Not even remotely.'_ Harry cursed internally. Personally he wouldn't be satisfied until he'd rewoven every fiber of the hat atop his head.

' _Now that is closer to what the young Hufflepuff thought.'_

 _'Can't you just sort me so we can get this out of the way? People are starting to stare.'_

' _Don't be naïve Mr. Potter, they've been staring at you since you entered this room. And as for sorting you…I've been trying. But you are proving to be quite the challenge. Your loyalty to your mother is worthy of Lady Hufflepuff herself. You have keen mind that is eager to learn everything you can. Your cunning…oh yes your cunning is something of legend. And the courage to stand in the darkness and fight against it…yes so very challenging. I haven't had this much fun during a sorting since I sorted your Mother and godfather.'_

Everyone in the hall were now whispering, causing Harry to become more and more unsettled. ' _Can you hurry this up…please?'_

' _Hm? Oh fine. Take away my fun. I guess in the end there is only one place you truly belong and that is…'_ "GRYFFINDOR!"

* * *

Leaning back in his chair in his office, Dumbledore felt himself relax for what was perhaps the first time almost two years. Finally Harry Potter was back at Hogwarts and away from the 'pillar'. And better yet, Harry had followed his parents and been sorted into Gryffindor. When the boy had come up to be sorted, Dumbledore had noticed the small scar on the boy's forehead and had knew exactly what had, or rather who, caused it. But the thing was…he couldn't necessarily detect anything malevolent about the scar.

But those thoughts could wait for later. Now he could begin the careful process of trying to drive a wedge between Harry and this Nox woman. It wouldn't be easy. Nymphadora had accidently let it slip last semester when he'd told her that she would Head Girl that Harry thought of this Nox woman like his mother. But this wouldn't be the first child he'd turned against his family. Sirius had been his shining star in that regard. However this time he wouldn't be able to use a child's unrest towards his family to order to separate them.

He would have to wait until he could learn more about the boy. He'd tried the gentlest of legimency probes during the feast. But apparently Nox had been training Harry in some magic because the boy had instantly looked towards the teachers table. It was only luck that his eyes landed on Severus and Quirrell first. Not being able to read his mind outright would make the process slower. But he'd already put his contingency plan in motion. The Weasley's.

Not that they actually knew it of course. Before William had reached the age where he would be attending school, Dumbledore had approached Molly and Arthur about a special program that would help them afford the cost of schooling. A program which of course didn't exist. But losing a couple thousand gallons a year was a drop in the hat for Dumbledore. Especially when it was weighed against the fact that it bought him the unquestioning loyalty of one of the most numerous and frankly one of the most powerful light sided families in all of Britain.

His contingency plan had been for young Ronald to find Harry and befriend him on the train. Which wasn't too hard to manipulate. One afternoon and a pleasant meal with the Weasley's as well as an offhand comment about worrying that Harry would arrive at Hogwarts without any friends and Molly Weasley had taken care of the rest. And by the looks of things at the feast, the two were at least of speaking terms. Friendship would hopefully come in time. And while he couldn't outright ask the Weasley's about young Harry for fear of rising suspicion…they were not nearly as renowned for their ability to protect their minds.

What did worry him slightly was the report from the Head Boy about the train ride. Apparently Harry had been sitting with Ronald. But he had also been sitting with Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Daphne Greengrass, and Tracey Davis.

The first two had been mildly expected. After all the Abbott's followed the Bones. And Madam Bones had been known to work with Nox on more than one occasion. So their association wasn't strange.

Daphne's presence however had given him pause. Despite the cordial relationship between Nox and Cyrus, there was no known formal alliance between the two. Perhaps Cyrus was merely trying to court Nox's favor by having his daughter befriend Harry. Something that he couldn't have. The girl was rumored to be an Apprentice to someone unknown and from everything he'd heard of the girl, she was true Slytherin through and through. He would have to talk with Severus and make sure that the rivalry between Slythering and Gryffindor remained strong.

But outside of those factors, things were coming together for Dumbledore. His ruse had worked and Voldemort was in the castle. No doubt after the 'stone'. The traps were well designed for their true purpose. The mirror would soon be on its way. And he had the Potter family heirloom ready to give back to Harry on Christmas. Yes. Everything was starting to come together.

* * *

Pulling on her nightshirt in her dorm room, Daphne tried not to roll her eyes at the sound of Pansy laughing behind her with Millicent's bellowing laugh not far behind. Part of her almost felt bad for Pansy. Almost.

After learning of her broken betrothal contract with Draco, which its mere existence caused her not to speak to her father for nearly two months, she'd learned the Lucius had negotiated with House Parkinson and betrothed Draco to Pansy.

Looking across the small dorm room she saw Tracey roll her eyes at her. The fact that she would have to share a room with those two for the next seven years almost made her want to march up to the Headmaster's office and request to be resorted. They were loud and annoying. Not to mention that Pansy had made no secret as to just who her intended was. And seemed to think and feel that she was queen bee of the hive because of it.

"So, Greengrass. What's this I hear about you sitting in a cabin with Harry Potter?"

Taking out her school uniform, she carefully arranged it on top of her trunk before answering Pansy. "It was my father's request. As the Heir of House Parkinson, I'm sure that you've been paying at least some attention to the Wizengamot. Madam Nox, Harry Potter's magical guardian, all but control's the neutrals. My father is trying to court her favor by having me befriend him. But if I had the choice…I wouldn't be in the same room as the pounce."

Her answer seemed to appease Pansy, but Tracey sent her a curious look. Before her friend could blow everything, Daphne gave her friend a very slight shake of her head and mouthed 'later' to her when neither Pansy or Millicent were looking.

Her Master had assigned her a very important mission while she was here at Hogwarts. In essence…she was her Master's spy amongst the Slytherins. ' _You don't send a lion, or a raven, or a badger into the snakes den.'_ Her Master had explained to her before she'd left for school. ' _You send in a snake of your own and let them slither right in. You, my wonderful apprentice, are our snake. Unfortunately this means you must publicly distance yourself from my son and Susan. Can you do this?'_

Of course her answer had been yes. Not that Harry or Susan had enjoyed her answer or her assigned task. But orders were orders. And she would succeed in this task that'd been entrusted to her.

Grabbing a small pouch from her trunk she crawled up onto her bed and sat down cross legged. "Good night."

After receiving three responses she pulled down the curtains around her bed. There was a little fact about the Slytherin dorm bed's that most students didn't realize until they were in their upper years. The curtains were imbedded with several layers of silencing and obscuring charms. Which ensured that whoever was in the bed were guaranteed complete privacy.

Once the curtains where in place she let out a small breath of relief. She could sense that Pansy had believed her. Which means that she would tell Draco and the little blond pounce would no longer focus on her. Hopefully. She would have to start teaching Tracey how to defend her mind. She wanted to take her friend into her confidence. After all, two eyes were better than one. But with both Snape and Dumbledore being confirmed legilimencer's…she would have to be confident that her friend wouldn't inadvertently give away any secrets beforehand.

Reaching into the pouch she'd thrown on her bed, she pulled out the small pyramid holocron that was within. Just like Susan and Harry, her father had gotten her a trunk that had a secret compartment that was only accessible to her. And just like her, Susan and Harry each a holocron of their own. Later in the year they would switch off their holocrons so they could learn as much as possible.

Using the Force, she floated the holocron before her and sent waves of the Force into it. Immediately the four sides of the pyramid folded back and small holographic representation of a masked man wearing red and black armor appeared before her. _**"Hear well the words of Darth Marr."**_

* * *

The light surrounding Susan dimmed as the holocron before her folded up on itself to form a perfect cube once more. After everything that she'd heard and seen during the sorting, Susan had needed to hear the words of Grand Master Shan once more before she went to sleep for the night. Her Aunt and her Master were right. Something was very off about Hogwarts. More specifically…something was very off with the Headmaster.

Susan may have only be elven, but she wasn't naïve. According to Tonks, who she'd managed to get a quick word in with down in the common room, there had never been any section of the castle that'd been declared 'out of bounds' except for the restricted section of the library. But then to also say to a room full of kids that a 'painful death' awaited anyone who ventured there? Merlin…that was almost inviting them to go and look. Case and point, she'd already heard no less than three of her own house mates talking about how to get into the 3rd floor corridor.

She would have to send an owl to her Aunt and her Master as soon as she could for further instructions. Part of her wanted to go and check out just what was so important about that corridor. But her Master had made it clear that the three of them, outside of academics, were not supposed to stand out. And sneaking into a forbidden corridor and possibly getting caught definitely constituted standing out. So she would wait until she heard back.

Pulling her bed curtains aside, she peaked out at her dorm. The room was completely dark and all of the beds had their curtains closed. Leaning out of her bed slightly, she pressed her finger against a very specific spot on her trunk. A small panel snapped open, exposing a small compartment where she put her holocron before closing it once more.

' _The three of us really need a better place to study rather than our beds in the dead of night.'_ Susan thought retreating behind the curtains of her bed once more and laying down. ' _The last thing we need is to possibly get caught with our holocrons.'_

Unfortunately according to Tonks, Sirius, Remus, and her Aunt just about every hidden passageway or hidden room were watched. Either by charms or by the many hundreds of paintings that littered the walls of the castle.

But those concerns could wait for another day. Tomorrow was her first day of learning magic. And she needed to get some sleep. It really wouldn't do for her to slip up and use some of the Force techniques her Master had taught her during class.

* * *

Pursing her lips, Nox watched as her latest subject was dragged unconscious from the interrogation room. It had taken no small amount of convincing and promises on her part, but Nox had finally convinced Amelia to let her come here to the wizarding prison of Azkaban to personally question the Death Eaters that were captured during the last war. There was a possibility, however slight, that Voldemort had given one of his followers one of his soul containers to hide even from himself. If he did, she doubted that he would outright tell them what they had, more than likely say it was a 'precious artifact' of sorts that he trusted them to protect. But as she watched her latest subject be dragged unconscious from the room she was starting to doubt her assumption.

"How many more do we have to question?" She asked turning to Amelia.

Amelia had insisted on coming with as one of her conditions to allowing Nox to question the Death Eaters and Sirius had tagged along as well. Amelia she could understand. Why Sirius joined them however she didn't know. Perhaps to face his own personal demons by coming to the place that had held him captive unjustly for a time. Whatever his reasons, he and Amelia stayed closed to her phoenix patronus as well as Amelia's hawk patronus pretty much at all times.

Not that she necessarily blamed him of course. The depressing darkness that hung about this prison reminded her remarkably of the dark temple on Dromund Kaas. It was only because she was used to the darkness that she was able to withstand its constant pressing. If she wasn't then she more than likely would've been sitting right next to Amelia and Sirius. That wasn't even to mention the 'guards' of the prison. If she didn't know better, she would assume that these 'dementors' were a byproduct of Sith alchemy.

"That takes care of all of the dark lord's lower ranks." Amelia grumbled more than slightly irritably. She apparently didn't have much of a taste for Nox's brand of questioning. Despite the fact that Nox had toned it down considerably. "That leaves only the members of his 'inner circle'. And despite your methods…I have to admit that we've learned a great deal so far. It's too bad that we won't be able to use any of it in court however. I would've love to nail Lucius's arse to the wall."

"You're not the only one." Sirius growled. "I just wish that I could be obliviated like the rest of these poor sods."

On top of Amelia's conditions for their visit, Nox had placed two of her own. Primarily that their visit must remain completely secret. It wouldn't do for Voldemort to discover that they were searching for his soul containers. To that end, each of the prisoners they questioned were then obliviated. And the two guards and Warden who knew of their visit had also agreed to be obliviated as well to erase any knowledge of their visit.

"Who's next?" Nox asked turning to the Warden.

The Warden looked down at his list and visibly winced. "Prisoner number 432-5715…Bellatrix Lestrange. Serving life sentence without the possibility of release for association with the Death Eaters. Multiple uses of the killing curse. And for torturing Frank and Alice Longbottom into insanity with the torture curse. And she…well…"

"She's my cousin."

Nox turned and raised a questioning eyebrow at Sirius. "And will that be a problem?"

Sirius snorted. "Are you kidding me? Frank and Alice were two of my closet friends outside of James, Remus, and Lily. You want me to hold her down for you?"

Shaking her head, she turned to the Warden and nodded.

The doors opened once again allowing the two guards to enter once more. Between them they half led, half carried, the form of a lithe woman with wild black hair. She might have once been beautiful, and probably could be once more. But her time in captivity had done her no favors in that regard. What stood out to Nox though was the woman's power. It was simply incredible. It was no wonder this Voldemort considered her one of his 'Inner Circle'.

With little care or ceremony, the two guards dropped her down heavily into the chair before securing her wrist, ankles, and wrapping a belt around her middle. "That will do." Nox said waving the two guards out of the room before approaching the bound woman.

Bellatrix's head rolled around, her eyes squinting from the light of the room as she tried to get her bearings. "My my my…the head cunt herself comes to greet me. How's your brother Amelia? Oh that's right…he's dead hehehe. And little ity bity Siri…do you need cousin Bella to hold your hand again from the big dad nightmares? And…who the bloody fuck are you? Sirius's new fuck buddy?"

Nox didn't bother with a response. Instead she quietly walked right up to the woman and held her hand in front of her face. Her first probe made the woman flinch. This one actually had some decent mental defenses. On the same level as Sirius. And since she had been holding herself back from experimenting on Sirius's defenses…this was almost a gift from the Force.

Her second probe was neither gentle nor subtle. She threw most of her power against the shields in Bellatrix's mind causing her head to snap back hard against the chair and her mouth to open in a wordless scream of agony. But despite the pressure Nox was putting on her…her defenses held strong.

' _A new tactic then.'_ She mused relenting slightly as she began searching the fleeting emotions that were escaping past the woman's mental barrier. ' _Give me something I can use…ah. There it is. Yes. That will work perfectly.'_

"May as well bring this one back to her cell Warden." Nox said over her shoulder while keeping the pressure on Bellatrix's mind. "She's not all that powerful. I doubt she ever served any real purpose for Voldemort besides being on her back as a reward for his more _trusted_ followers."

"You dare speak his name!" Bellatrix shouted trying to move, which only resulted in Nox throwing her back with another probe.

"Of course." Nox shrugged. "The man was completely incompetent as a 'Dark Lord'. Being defeated by a child? How utterly pathetic."  
"The Dark Lord is greater than you could ever hope to be! He has conquered death!" Bellatrix shouted. "And I was his favored servant! And when he returns he will come for me and I will be by his side once more!"

Nox could feel the woman's barriers falter slightly. "Favored in bed maybe. I doubt he would ever trust someone so pitifully weak like yourself with anything truly meaningful. And even if he _did_ 'defeat death' as you say. I doubt he would waste his time assaulting this place to rescue someone weak like yourself."

"I am not weak!" Bellatrix screamed as Nox put more pressure on her mind. Her barriers were wavering almost violently. "And the great Lord trusted me above all others! I am his faithful servant now and forever!"

"He trusted your cousin Regulus more than you." Nox pressed. Her mind was wavering and Nox was able to slip slightly past her barriers. "He trusted your cousin with the location of a great artifact of power. I bet you were never even told about them. And why would you be? You were nothing more than a whore to him."

"No! He trusted me!"

"Why?" Nox pressed. She was so close. "Why do you believe he trusted you?"

"Because he gave me a great artifact of power! He trusted me with guarding it for his return!" Bellatrix screamed and laughed. "And when he returns I will rip the flesh from your bones!"

"A lie you tell yourself to justify your continued existence in this hell. Everything you could lay claim too was searched thoroughly when you were sent here. So tell me…where would did you hide such a 'precious artifact'. If indeed you even had one?"

She could feel Bellatrix pushing against her probe, but it was far, far, too late. She was already past her barrier. And with no training on how to resist this type of interrogation…Bellatrix was hers. "Those little beast guard their…and my treasures well."

Withdrawing the probe, Bellatrix slumped forward breathing heavily. "Obliviate her. Twice."

Stepping forward, Sirius leveled his wand right between Bellatrix's eyes. " _Obliviate! Obliviate!_ "

Two bolts of green light struck Bellatrix in rapid succession. "Get her out of here." Amelia said to the Warden.

The Warden nodded and the two guards came back in to collect Bellatrix. "I really don't want to know what you three are up too." The Warden said more than slightly fearfully as he watched Bellatrix's limp form being dragged out of the room. "And this day can't be over soon enough. Please…obliviate me twice as well when you're done."

"We will." Nox said, sitting down and feeling more than slightly pleased with herself. They'd gained the location of another soul container. The only question now was how she was going to convince the goblins to let her have access to any vault Bellatrix might have access too.

* * *

Sitting down in the great hall in the early hours of the morning, Harry was enjoying the relative quiet as he heard the morning issue of the Daily Prophet. He'd learned fairly quickly that the best time to be in the Great Hall was right about the time it started breakfast as few students were actually brave enough to rise that early in the day. It was quiet. Something he relished. "How are you down here already?!" At least most of the time that was.

Glancing over the rim of his text book, he spotted Herminie Granger dropping down heavily onto the seat across from him. Not surprising really when one considered that her bag looked to contain every book they'd been assigned as first years. Plus a few extra. "I woke up and came down here." Harry said pushing the plate of eggs towards her. "Hungry?"

Hermione glanced down at the plate for a second before scooping a few eggs onto her plate. After taking only two mouthfuls of food she set her fork down, pulled out a book from her bag and started reading. Harry could just make out the words ' _Magical Drafts and Potions'_ across the spine of the book. Picking up his paper again, the two settled into an easy silence as they both read.

Sensing her long before he could hear her, Harry turned his head just enough to see a wide awake Daphne stroll into the Great Hall with a zombie like Tracey following closely behind her. The two shared the briefest of glances, but that was it and soon Daphne was sitting at her own house table.

If there was one thing that he truly hated about this school, it was what it had done to his and Daphne's relationship. At least on the surface. The fact that she was in Slytherin while he was in Gryffindor pretty much assured that should the two of them ever be caught speaking in any way even slightly cordial, several unpleasant things would happen to her.

He understood why she needed to be in Slytherin. His mother had explained it to him. She was to be their eyes and ears amongst the children of the Death Eaters. But that still didn't mean he liked it. He missed talking with her. She was fun and wicked smart. He could still talk with Susan without raising suspicion but he missed the times when it was just the three of them.

He'd tried to find some common companionship amongst his new house mates, but that task was proving to be more than slightly difficult as just about every other person seemed to almost fawn over him. His dorm mates weren't so bad he supposed. Dean and Seamus were decent enough. Neville though…Harry wasn't sure what to make of him. He could sense the power the boy had. But he was so reserved that Harry doubted his power would ever be fully realized. Then there was Ron who was…well Harry didn't know quite what to think of him. Most of the time he was a decent bloke. But other times…he was a complete and utter idiot.

Hearing a book drop heavily against the table, he looked up in time to see Hermione rapidly digging through her bag as she searched for another.

After meeting her, he'd originally hoped that Hermione would be able to fill the intellectual gap that Daphne's absence had created. Unfortunately after their first day of classes, Harry doubted that it would ever come to pass.

The first magical class of the year had been Transfiguration with his now head of house Madam McGonagall, a subject Harry had been looking forward too after seeing what his mother and Sirius could do with the art. The first near hour of the class had been dedicated to a lecture dealing with the intricacies and uses of transfiguration. For several of the students, the hour long lecture seemed to be too much for them as they started to nod off. But for Harry, whose mother could lecture for nearly a full day on specific usage of the Force, it was perfectly normal. The second half of the class was dedicated to practical application. In this case turning a wooden match into a metal needle. And that was where things had fallen apart.

While the rest of the class were saving their wands about and shouting the incantation. Harry had taken his time, used the Force to supplement his magic, and subjected his will onto the wooden match while saying the incantation; which instantly changed into a metal needle.

Even McGonagall seemed surprised by his success on the first try and praised him by saying that maybe he had inherited his father's knack for the art. His success however had not pleased Hermione, who almost seemed insulted that he'd managed to do it before her. Harry winced as he felt her anger rise with each failed attempt. She'd eventually managed to make the change, but she was the fourth student to do so behind both Susan and Daphne.

After class she'd marched up to him and demanded, not asked, but demanded to know how he'd done it. He told her what he'd done and she'd immediately countered by saying that what he did wasn't in the book. And that was when he'd apparently made his second mistake when he'd told her that she needed to think beyond the book because they might not always be complete or even correct. That had irked her more than slightly.

Their next class, charms, didn't help matters either. As Harry had once again managed to get the spell, a simple flipping of a cup which he could've done with the Force without issue, correct first. That of course had earned him several more glares from Hermione. And by the end of class he could actually feel jealousy and anger coming off of her whenever she looked at him.

After that, Hermione had almost seemed to take it as personal insult that he was doing better than him. She studied constantly, always made sure her hand was raised whenever a teacher asked a question. And always made sure to give him a mildly smug look whenever she got a question right. At this point he was beginning to doubt whether or not his mother should even consider sponsoring the girl.

As she opened yet another potions book, Harry set down his paper with a sigh. "Hermione…I don't think we're expected to know everything before the start of each class. That's why we're in school in the first place. To learn."

Although he was seriously starting to question that theory as well. The teachers of this school were…inconsistent to say the least. Transfiguration and Charms were both interesting and engaging classes that were taught by very knowledgeable teachers. Defence Against the Dark Arts could've been an interesting class, but Quirell made the class completely useless with his fear of just about everything. But despite his ineptitude…there was something dark about the man. He reeked of the dark side. But for some reason Harry could not pinpoint why.

Herbology was an interesting class taught by another competent teacher in Professor Sprout. History of Magic was completely useless. The ghost who taught the class…Harry doubted it even realized it had students half the time. He was seriously considering asking his mother if there was some Force ritual he could perform just to send the ghost on its way and save himself the trouble of having to sit through his class. Astronomy was…well Harry wasn't really sure why they taught this class. Sure knowing the stars were important, especially for navigation. But how or why they corresponded to magic was strange. Not to mention the teacher seemed to be completely bewildered when Harry described the sun as a star as well. So in all, of the six classes they were being forced to take only three of them actually worth taking in Harry's opinion. Not a good percentage for presumably the greatest magical school in the world.

Hermione fixed him with a glare, but didn't say anything as she buried her nose once again into her book.

Soon enough Harry's peaceful silence was brought to an end as all of the students began filling in for a quick breakfast before classes. "There you are." Ron said dropping down sleepily onto the bench beside him before reaching for several plates of food. "You weren't in bed this morning."

Harry just shrugged. "I was down here."

When Harry didn't elaborate any further, Ron just shrugged and began shoveling food into his mouth. Literally…shoveling food. And missing half the time. "That's disgusting Ronald." Hermione said, glancing over her book just long enough to look at him.

"What?" Ron got out around a mouthful of food.

"Nothing." Hermione said turning back to her book.

The rest of breakfast passed relatively quickly and in no time at all it was time to head on down to the dungeons. Although why they held potions class in the deepest part of the castle Harry had no idea.

Standing outside the classroom, Harry waited with his fellow Gryffindor's and the Slytherin first years for the door to open. Beside him Hermione was reciting different potion ingredients and Ron was finishing off the last of a biscuit that he'd nabbed from the Great Hall on his way out. Across the hall from him was Daphne, who gave him a very brief amused glance at his current predicament before completely ignoring him once more.

The door to the classroom slammed open without warning as the black haired Professor Snape marched out into the hall. "All of you get in. Leave your wands where they are and get your supplies out."

Harry blink and was nearly run over as his fellow students rushed into the classroom. This man…there was little in him besides hate and loathing. He'd heard more than a fair share of stories about Snape from his godfather, Remus, and Dora in the past year. But until now he'd been prepared to give the man the benefit of the doubt. Now though…he realized that everything they'd been saying about him was true. He was little more than a black cesspool of hatred.

Setting his bag down on an empty bench top, he grimaced slightly as Ron quickly dropped his stuff down next to him. The boy had shown that he had no steady hand during Herbology. And his lack of attention to directions had been exemplified in more than one class. Both of which were a necessity for a success potion. Without them, the results could be quite…explosive.

"There will be no foolish wand waving in this class." Snape said walking to the front of the class. "As it is, I doubt most of you will ever have the mental fascilities to truly comprehend the art of potion making. But for those of you who do. I can teach you to ensure the mind, mend the body, or make your greatest enemies disappear. Now…let's see how prepared you are. Potter! Where would I find a bezoar?"

"In the stomach of a goat." Harry knew this one right off the back. After all…he carried one on him at all times at his mother's insistence.

Snape blinked. Apparently he didn't expect Harry to answer correctly. "A lucky guess. So tell me, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Harry glared at Snape. This was a trick questions. And truthfully he probably wouldn't have known the answer had he not been helping Remus with his monthly potion requirements. Beside him, Hermione was almost bouncing in her seat as she tried to get Snape's attention. "They are the same thing Professor. So there is no difference."

The rage coming off of Snape was nearly staggering. "Tell me then, Mr. Celebrity. What will I get if I add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

This one made Harry blink. There had been no mention of either of those two ingredients in either the first or second year's potions books. He knew because he'd read and memorized them both. Beside him Hermione was waving her hand frantically in the air trying to get Snape's attention. "I'm not sure Professor. I don't remember seeing either our book for this year."

Snape sneered, although Harry could sense the faintest bit of joy coming from the man. "Clearly…fame isn't everything. I hope you don't think it will carry you through this class."

"Professor! Please I know the answer. It's-"

"Quiet Granger!" Snape snapped at the girl making her flinch. "Ten points from Gryffindor for talking without permission. And seeing as how you obviously don't know Potter, not surprising considering your godfather and father, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death."

Turning his back to the class, Snape tapped his wand to the large blackboard dominating the front of the class. "The potion for the day is on the board. Ingredients are in the cupboard. Any who don't turn in a potion by the end of class shall receive a zero for the day. Get to it now!"

* * *

Sitting in his office, Dumbledore was idly stroking his beard as he listened as Severus finished telling him of his findings. "So Harry has mental barriers then."

"Yes Headmaster." Severus replied, seemingly more than slightly unnerved. "While he was working I used a light probe and was met with a wall. The brat instantly reacted and looked around so I withdrew. The second time I tried distracting him before the probe, but that didn't work at all and he turned his attention to me the moment I touched the barriers. Headmaster, I've never even heard of the type of barriers he has. But I'm confident that they are not occulemncy barriers."

"Unfortunately, I have Severus." Dumbledore sighed leaning back further into his chair.

It didn't take long for Severus to make the connection. "Nox?"

"Yes." Dumbledore nodded. "Before we were ever formally introduced I attempted to probe her. Not only did she completely rebuff my probe, she violently threw me from her mind. Not only that, she was able to correctly identify that it was I who was attempting to probe her in a room full of witches and wizards. And apparently she is passing this new art onto her son as well."

And apparently that wasn't all that Nox was passing on. Just as she had promised all those years ago, Harry was indeed incredibly gifted. Every teacher who'd had him in class so far had had nothing but praise for the young man. But he wasn't he only one who was being praised this year. "What about the girls? Abbott, Bones, Greengrass and Davis?"

"Both Bones and Greengrass have mental barriers." Severus said quickly. "Not necessarily surprising considering who their families are. But neither seem to be at the level of the brat's. Also, theirs felt more like traditional occulmency barriers. Abbott and Davis however have no mental barriers. Davis had nothing to offer. And the only thing I could gain from the Abbott girl was that apparently Potter and Bones knew each other before school."

' _So Madam Bones is aligned with Sirius and Nox.'_ Dumbledore mused.

He figured that was the case. As the three of them often voted similarly on most of the bills that'd come through the Wizengamot in the past two years. But it was still good to have verification of their alliance. Even if it was circumstantial. "I'm surprised your new little 'spy' didn't tell you about the relationship between Bones and Potter."

"Nypmhadora told me that Madam Bones had been over to speak with Sirius on several occasions Severus." Dumbledore said suppressing a sigh. The subject of Nypmhadora was a sore spot between the two of them. Mainly because Severus didn't believe that the girl was truly on their side.

"I still don't believe that she is with us Headmaster." Severus said shaking his head. "In the past two years the girl has developed amazing mental barriers. And now she has been named as Heir to the Head of House Black. She may carry the name 'Tonks'. But she is a Black through and through. What reason would she have to turn against her family?"

"You forget Severus, that Sirius was a Black as well. And I convinced him to turn against his family as well."

He left unsaid that Black had already been disheartened with his family well before ever arriving at Hogwarts. But after his wrongful arrest, Sirius had turned his back on the light. And Dumbledore was afraid that he would lead the Black family once more down a dark path. Which was why he'd been having multiple conversations with young Nymphadora every school year since she entered school. If the Black family was to stay truly with the light, he felt that the best person to do that was young Nymphadora. And now, with Sirius naming Nymphadora as the Heir, that was almost assured.

"So what do we do now Headmaster?" Severus asked.

Stroking his beard, he looked towards the pensive. Even after all of these years he still hadn't figured out the full meaning of the prophecy. There was no doubt that Nox was this 'pillar'. She confirmed that for him two years ago. But he still had no idea what was meant by the 'six wings'. Or how would young Harry's power break and heal the world? There were far too many questions that still needed to be answered.

"For now we wait." Dumbledore said. "Our bait has worked, as you well know. Continue baiting young Harry. See if you can find a weakness in his defenses by do not be obvious about it. If he is on to you withdraw immediately. In the meantime…we must find a way to drive a wedge between Harry and this Nox."

* * *

Sitting down at the Great Hall, Harry idly stared down at the few pieces of food on his plate as dozens of magically conjured bats flew overhead. Truthfully, he didn't even know why he'd come down to the Hall today. He certainly wasn't in the mood to celebrate like everyone else. Halloween for his wasn't a time for celebration. To him it was much more a reminder of the night his parents died trying to protect him. And this particular Halloween was especially difficult because he did not have his mother around to help him.

"-heard that she's been in the girls bathroom all day. Crying."

When he heard that, he turned his glare towards Ron, who at least had the good sense to look ashamed.

After nearly a month of semi-hostilities between the two of them, Harry had finally managed to come to some sort of truce between himself and Hermione. The two had settled into an almost friendly rivalry of sorts. And Harry had actually come to start enjoying the challenge she was presenting him. Of course not everyone appreciated her, Ron seemingly least of all.

Earlier in the day during their charms class Ron had been waving his wand around and completely mispronouncing the levitation spell. Hermione had pointedly corrected him on what he was doing wrong. And when Ron had snapped back that 'if it was so easy, why don't you do it'. Hermione had shown him up in the middle of class.

That of course did not end well. As Ron had then started complaining loudly out in the middle of the hall how Hermione was a know it all and that it was no wonder why she had no friends and how it was highly unlikely that she would ever have them. Of course the pounce had also not realized that Hermione had pretty much been right behind him the entire time. Which made the young girl run of without a second look back.

It'd taken Harry the better part of the afternoon to even find out where she'd run off too. When he finally did find her, he was unable to reach her as she'd barricaded herself into the girl's bathroom. He'd sent Susan in after her, but his fellow apprentice had come out empty handed, saying that the girl was pretty much inconsolable.

With no desire to attend the Halloween feast, Harry had wanted to stay and wait for her with Susan. But Snape had put an end to that. When the professor had come through the hall and saw them, he immediately demanded to know what they doing outside the girls bathroom. When Harry explained that Hermione was upset and they were waiting for her, Snape merely scoffed and said that the girl should grow tougher skin. He then forcibly escorted the two of them to the feast. A fact which had made Harry want to snap every bone in the man's arm.

So now without any option left to him, he was forced to sit at his seat and push food around his plate until the feast officially ended and he could go and check up on her.

Without warning the doors to the Great Hall burst open and the turban wearing Quirell rushed into the hall. "Troll! In the dungeon…thought you all ought to know." He got out just before fainting right in the middle of the hall.

The reaction was predictable enough. Every student in the hall started screaming in fear and started rushing for the doors of the Great Hall. An action that Harry thought was completely idiotic considering how the very creature they feared was out there.

"Silence!"

Everyone in the Great Hall turned towards the front of the Great Hall. Harry had to hand it to the man. Dumbledore surely did know how to get everyone's attention when he wanted to. "Everyone please remain calm. Prefects, please escort your houses back to your dormitories. Teachers will come with me down to the dungeons so we can deal with the troll. On your way everyone."

As he stood with the rest of his house, Harry took back what little respect he had for the Headmaster. A dangerous creature who was naturally resistance to magic was running through the halls of a school full of children and what did he do? Keep them all in the Great hall? No. He sent them out into the school to go back to their dorms. Two of which were in the direction of where the troll was rumored to be.

As he walked out, he briefly caught Susan's eyes. Apparently she didn't look too thrilled about this order either. But it was what she did next that made Harry's heart stop. She mouthed the word, 'Hermione'.

Cursing internally, he looked to see if any of the teachers were heading in the direction he knew Hermione to be at. But all of them were heading down towards the dungeons. Save for Quirell who was still passed out on the ground and Snape who was heading in the opposite direction for some reason.

' _Shit.'_ Harry thought. Hermione had no idea what was going on…and it didn't look like anyone was going to go after her either. ' _Mother's going to kill me for doing this.'_

Falling back in line, he waited until he was at the every back of the line and they started to ascend the great stairs before he took off at a full sprint towards the girl's bathroom.

Rounding the last bend just before the girl's bathroom, Harry skidded to an abrupt stop. A large, green-skinned creature was just coming out of the bathroom. A club in one hand and the limp form of Hermione in the other. The troll looked down at Hermione, gave her limp form a shake, and then threw her into the wall on the far side of the hallway.

Harry didn't even think. Without drawing his wand he grabbed hold of a statue of armor next to him with the Force and threw it as hard as he could at the hulking beast.

The steel armor struck the troll right in the center of its forehead. Using the brief opening, Harry sprinted as fast as he could towards the troll. With a flick of his wrist his lightsaber was in his right hand.

Harry had managed covered half the distance between the two of them by before the troll even realized he was there. With an ear piercing yell, the troll swung its massive club in an arch across its body.

Just before the club hit him Harry used the Force to propel his body off the ground and into the air. As he passed by the side of the trolls head he activated his lightsaber and slashed diagonally from the creature's eye to temple before landing behind the troll.

What Harry hadn't counted on, or even seen, was the large stairwell that'd been behind the troll. And he just barely managed to stop himself from falling head long down the stone steps. _'This will work.'_ He thought turning back to the raging troll, who was swinging its club around widely while pressing its other hand to its ruined eye.

Reaching out with the Force, Harry pulled the troll back towards him while he ran forward and slashed at the back of its ankles.

The combination of being pulled back and having the tendon's in its ankle cut was enough to make the massive beast lose its balance and topple backwards down the stairs. Over and over it turned, screaming at the top of its lungs as it tried to stop its fall. But it was useless. Its cries finally came to an abrupt and violent end as it reached the bottom landing with a loud crash. Several of its arms were twisted at wrong angles…and its head was turned completely around.

Giving the creature a final glance, Harry deactivated his lightsaber, sprinted across the hall and fell to his knees beside the broken and bloodied Hermione. Pressing his fingers to her throat he leaned over brining his ear close to her mouth. She was breathing and her heart was beating. But only just.

Flipping his lightsaber over, he opened the small compartment on its base that Sirius and Remus had added. Inside the small hold was a folded up pouch. Unfolding the pouch he stuck his arm into its opening all the way down to his elbow. Grabbing the two small glass vials inside, he quickly withdrew them before setting the pouch and his lightsaber on the ground.

The first bottle contained Essence of Dittany, while the other contained the much more powerful Phoenix tears. Pulling the eyedropper out of the Dittany bottle, Harry carefully placed a single drop of the healing substance onto each of the open wounds he could find on Hermione. When he completed that he set the bottle aside and picked up the Phoenix tears. Carefully opening her mouth, Harry put two drops directly into her throat before closing her mouth tight. The Dittany would heal her outside wounds and the Phoenix tears would heal any internal injuries.

Within seconds her breathing evened out and her heartbeat began returning to normal. "H-H-Harry?"

"Shh. Don't talk." Harry said, quickly putting the bottles away and returning his lightsaber into its holder.

"Wh…what h-h-happen-ed?"

"Don't talk." Harry said again, he could sense several strong presences approaching. And he didn't necessarily want to wait around and have to explain to them why he was holding onto a bloodied by apparently uninjured Hermione while a dead troll lay at the bottom of the stairs less than a few dozen paces from them.

Scooping her up in his arms, he used the Force to augment his muscles as he sprinted away as fast as his legs could carry the two of them.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Welcome back everyone! Time for another chapter! Just wanted to send out a quick thank you to everyone who's either reviewed, alerted or added this story to your favorites. Thank you all so much for your support! I'm honestly mildly amazed at how popular this story is right now…it's completely blown my mind. And all of your support is greatly appreciated.**

 **Alright, two things. First I would like your guy's honest opinion. Did this year's year of Hogwarts go by too fast? Honestly I just kind of wanted to get it over with, but if you guys want more detail please let me know.**

 **Secondly, posing a challenge to you all. There are two movie quotes/references in this chapter. The first person who can correctly identify the both of them (name the movie) in a review or PM will get to know who Harry's confirmed pairing is.**

 **Lastly, just wanted to answer some review questions that I didn't get around to PM'ing.**

 **HowInMadHowie: Honestly, forgot all about Phineas but thank you for reminding me. And yes, their lightsabers and being held in wand holsters. I thought it was a cool idea.**

 **Notthisguy: Yeah…more than likely he will pick up some cloaking skills.**

 **ImmortalMyrddin: More than likely they won't be drifting apart. Even though they have to play strangers in school, there is still the summer training.**

 **Tellemicus Sundance: You make some very good points. Points even I didn't think of. Hopefully I'll be able to address and push things a certain way so everything works out.**

 **Vibrolux61: Thank you for the corrections. I will go back and edit the lightsaber styles that I posted earlier. As I said, my knowledge of specific SW lore is somewhat lacking. And the forms were basically very abridged versions of what was on Wookipedia So I appreciate the correction.**

 **There we go…hope that I got 'em all! Again please review everyone! It really helps with the whole motivation thing! And remember the challenge! First one to name both movie references wins! Also, still looking for a beta. Anyone who wants to help feel free to give me a shout!  
**

 **Chapter 8**

Sitting with his back against the couch, Harry fought to obtain some level of balance as he kept a silent vigil over Hermione's sleeping form.

He didn't even remember most of what happened after his confrontation with the troll and when he suddenly found himself outside the Gryffindor common room. Luckily he at least had the good sense to wait a moment and clean up Hermione before he brought her into the common room. He was still questioned fairly heavily by everyone, but at least he didn't have to answer why Hermione was all disheveled and bloodied. Thank the Force his mother had had him read up on house-hold spells. Especially the one's on cleaning, drying, and stain removing spells. Amazingly enough, his story about him going off to find Hermione and her 'fainting' when he told her about the troll seemed to be believed by just about everyone in the common room.

About half an hour after he'd returned to the common room, McGonagall arrived and said that the troll had been dealt with. She then asked if anyone had been…misplaced.

All eyes had turned to him, but he countered quickly saying that he'd gone to look for Hermione and ended up finding her walking up the stairs on her own and escorted her the rest of the way after she passed out when he told her about the troll. A story which McGonagall seemed to buy amazingly enough.

After that, everyone started drifting off to bed eventually leaving only Harry and Hermione in the common room. But while the bushy haired girl slept peacefully, Harry was anything but. His hands were literally shaking. He'd been running pretty much purely on adrenaline since the Great Hall, and now that he wasn't moving…Force…

"…hmmm…Harry?"

Turning his head, he was met with Hermione's half open eyes. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

Hermione stared at him confusedly for a second. Then her eyes widened in terror as she sat bolt upright and began looking around frantically. "Harry! There's…what…why are we…how…troll…"

"Relax Hermione." Harry cooed trying to get the frantic girl to calm down. "You're safe."

It took nearly half an hour for Harry to finally get Hermione to fully calm down. By then Harry was sitting on the couch beside the still frightened girl with his arm around her shoulders. "Harry…what happened down there?"

"What do you mean?"

Pulling away from him, Hermione fixed him with a flat stare that was tinged with no small amount of fear. "Harry…I remember the troll finding me…then I…I remember screaming and…pain. Then there was you…I remember seeing you…fly. Black light in your hand. Then the troll fell backwards…then nothing. Please Harry, tell me. What happened?"

Harry cursed. He'd thought Hermione had been out of it enough that she wouldn't have seen anything he'd done. But apparently not. So now the big question…what did he tell her? Judging by the look she was currently giving him…he wouldn't be able to get away with the whole 'I don't know what you're talking about' line. So…maybe she would settle for a half-truth.

So he told her everything from the time when Quirrell came in screaming about a troll to how the students were sent back to their dorms and how he broke off from the others in order to find her. "…wasn't really sure what to do when I found you and the troll." He continued, altering the story slightly. "Honestly…I got lucky. Once I showed up it ignored you and came after me. It was only pure luck that it slipped down the stairs. After that…I didn't really both to look back. I just grabbed you and ran."

Hermione was chewing on her bottom lip by the time he was finished. "But then…Harry we need to go and speak to a teacher! They need to know that-"

"I've already spoken to McGonagall." Harry said quickly. Again another half-truth, but still the truth. "Don't worry so much Hermione. Everything is fine."

Unfortunately, his reassurances didn't seem to be calming the girl down at all. "But…but we still need to tell someone! I need to see Madam Pomfrey-"

"Hermione you're fine."

"-possibly be expelled! Harry! We need to tell a teacher what happened!"

"The same teachers that ordered students out into the halls while a troll was roaming the castle?" Harry asked drawing Hermione up short. "Some of whom had to head in the direction that the troll had been spotted in? Besides…everything is taken care of now. No reason to get all upset over it."

Hermione chewed on her lip. "Still Harry…we should tell a teacher."

Sighing, Harry rubbed a hand across his eyes. Hermione had a keen mind, although lacking in imagination. But it was her unquestionable belief in authority that was starting to become a mild pain. ' _Okay…new tactic. Bribery.'_

Reaching over onto the nearby end table, Harry picked up the book he'd begun reading earlier that week. "I started reading this book earlier this week." He said handing it off to her.

"Advanced Defensive Spells Volume III?" Hermione questioned reading the spine of the book. "Where did you get this? It isn't in the library!"

"My mother gave it to me." Harry said. "But that isn't the point. Open the book at random and pick any spell within and start reading."

Hermione looked at him curiously, but opened the book at random. " _Ignis Carpe Retractum._ Is a whip like spell-"

"-that produces a robe of fire from the end of the wand that can extend out an estimated twenty-five yards." Harry recited verbatim from the book drawing a more than slightly startled look from Hermione. "The wand movement is a slight counter-clockwise circle followed by a quick jab. Once the fire is created, the length, width, and movement of the whip is controlled mentally by the caster."

Hermione stared at him completely slacked jawed. Flipping a few more pages into the book she read off another spell. And once again, Hermione only managed to read roughly half of the first paragraph before Harry picked it up and finished it without ever having to look at the book. After twenty minutes and four more spells, Hermione threw down the book and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Harry! You have an eidetic memory?"

"No." Harry answered honestly. "It's a F – rare magical technique that my mother taught me for absorbing knowledge. Basically I can read faster and retain knowledge better. Not quite and eidetic memory but close."

Hermione's mouth moved up and down, but no sound was being produced. Until of course she nearly screeched his ear off with, "teach me! Teach me! Teach me!"

"Hermione…I right here. No need to shout."

"Oh! Sorry…umm…can you teach me how to do that?"

"I can…if you promise to drop it." Harry said. "After all…McGonagall already said that everything is alright."

Hermione bit her lip again while her eyes darted back and forth. "Well…I guess we can't really change what happened."

"Nope."

"And it's not like anyone got hurt."

"Well, you got scared but that's about it."

"And McGonagall did say that everything was already taken care of."  
"You can ask pretty much anyone in the house. She came in and announced it about an hour ago or so."

"Well…I guess I can let it go." Hermione said lightly before her eyes locked onto his. "Now…teach me!"

Laughing, Harry picked up the book and sat down beside her. "I can only teach you the basics…mother will need to teach you more in-depth. But what I can show you will help you read faster and retain more knowledge. First thing you need to do is relax. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Now when you read, don't just focus on memorizing them. Instead let your magic memorize for you."

* * *

Flanked on either side by Sirius and Remus, Nox followed their escort into the damp cave. This had been a meeting Nox had been most anxious to have come to pass. And while she was loath to leave Harry at Hogwarts for the winter holidays…this was not something that could be put off. And plus…he had 'other' things to look into that could only be down with a minimalized school population.

Griphook had done as she'd requested a year ago and purchased a fair amount of land that was miles away from the nearest amount of 'civilized' civilization. The goblins then warded the land with just about everything they could. Once her land had been properly secured, she'd then commission the goblins to create a large muggle/magical factory.

While Nox Industries had several factories all over the world, they were all under government regulation and scrutiny. This factory would be her own secret facility. Ships, potions, weapons…whatever she needed for her long term plans would be created there. And thanks to the funding from various governments, she'd been able to finally reverse engineer the propulsion systems used on even the most basic of space fairing ships. She did of course have plans to release the engines within the next year, but they were nowhere near the quality of the ones she'd planned on putting in her own ships. Not to mention she planned on using various magical wards and ruins on her ships to make them far superior even to the Empire's standards.

After nearly a year of building the factory and a large warehouse had been completed. That was when she ran into her next not so little problem. Finding people to actually work the factory. People that were both magical and non-magical yet could be trusted to stay quite. And she knew exactly who she wanted. She'd known since her first conversation with Remus.

"Okay, I'm just going to ask this one last time. Are you sure this is wise?" Remus asked quietly as the two werewolf guards led them further down into their den. "Fenrir Greyback is not someone to trifle with. Especially on the day before the full moon."

Nox knew this of course. Werewolf's where at their peak just before the full moon. Their bodies became far stronger in preparation for the change. They were also susceptible to blood rage and losing their minds to their animal instincts making them even more dangerous. Which was exactly why she'd requested to meet with the werewolf clans now. The fact that it was the winter solstice was just the icing on the cake.

At first she'd planned on taking the Jedi route and simply offering them a home, safe and secure away from the rest of the world. Where they would be able to keep a steady job, practice magic, and basically live free. But that idea had been dismissed almost as soon as she'd given it voice. By Remus no less.

Despite the fact that there were considered three 'pack leaders' of the werewolves in Britain. There was only one true leader and that was Fenrir Greyback. He would not only dismiss her offer completely outright. He would then try to kill her for the insult of offering him a 'gilded collar'.

So, instead of the Jedi approach she was going to take the Sith approach. Challenge him to a duel and take command of his clan after he was a smoldering corpse.

But in order for that to come to pass, they needed to meet with the werewolf's first. Which a chest full of galleons with the promise of more had taken care of. The next problem would be getting Fenrir to accept her challenge. Which was why she'd chosen this day, when he'd be at his physical best. She would also let him name the terms of the fight. And she had several 'offer's' in store for the man that she doubted he would be able to resist.

"Are you worried about little ol' me Remus?" Nox smirked at the man as they entered a large cavern where dozens of people, most only partially dressed, stood around watching them.

Remus gave her a flat look. "More like I'm worried about what will happen when this inevitably goes south."

"Which is why we have our portkey's." Sirius said out of the corner of his mouth. "Let's just hope no one here has figured out had to raise an anti-portkey ward."

Tuning out her two companions she focused on the two men and one woman at the end of the room. The man in the center, undoubtedly this Greyback, looked like he was born part werewolf. The man's face was angular and most of his exposed skin was covered in hair. His Force presence however…he was little better than a wild beast. Just one step above a rakghoul. The man beside Greyback was much the same, both physically and in the Force.

The woman next to them however was quite different. The woman's skin was mostly hair free, but she was covered in dirt and her blond hair looked like a preverbal rat's birds nest. If she'd been bathed properly Nox would find her at least somewhat attractive.

"So…you're the whore who's raising the brat Potter." Greyback snarled. "Well you're here now so what the fuck do you want?"

"I've come to challenge you, Fenrir Greyback, for control of the werewolf clans here in Britain." Nox said loudly and clearly.

More than one werewolf looked at her as if she were crazy. Others, like the woman leader, looked at her curiously. Most however reacted just like Greyback. Which meant they threw their heads back and laughed. "Ha! Why should I accept your challenge whore?" Greyback laughed. "You are not one of us."

Arching an eyebrow, Nox shook her head. "Hm. And here I was thinking that you were a true alpha. I guess I was wrong. I suppose fighting someone above the age of ten is truly too much for you."

All laughing ceased as many looked on slack jawed. As for Fenrir…the rage coming off of him was clearing visible. "Watch what you say bitch!"

"I call it like I see it." She responded. "You won't fight me, a woman who is much smaller than you. And given your reputation for children…what other conclusion can I draw other than that you are a pathetic coward. I'll tell you what, I'll even let you name the terms of our duel. Accept my challenge…or be known as the child murdering coward."

Fenrir was literally snaring at her and more than one werewolf in the cavern were trying to make themselves as invisible as possible. "You win…you get my clan. A high price. What are you offering in return for when I win?"

Smirking, Nox unclasp her rope and let it fall to the ground. Underneath she'd worn her Sith robes, but she'd modified the top so she was showing an impressive amount of cleavage. ' _Men are so easy.'_ She chuckled as she felt the wave of lust roll off of Fenrir. "You get me Greyback. As your bitch. And if that isn't enough. You'll also gain unlimited access to the Potter Vaults as well as my own. Which do in fact rival the Potter Vaults. You will become the richest and most powerful man in all of Britain. Perhaps even Europe."

She had him. With his animal side clouding his judgement she could sense that all he was thinking was to hurt her for her insult and to take her as his mate. "We fight hand to hand." Fenrir growled. "Then edge weapons…then magic. Once we get to magic there is not holding back. But only I can advance the fight. And once I call out a change, we stop for a moment to reset."

In other words he was creating another advantage. Should he be winning she could do nothing to halt the fight. However if she was winning he could simply halt the fight and change the conditions. Another advantage for him. Not that it would matter in the end.

"I accept your challenge." She said snapping both her hands to her sides to draw out both her wand and her lightsaber. Her wand she gave to Sirius while her lightsaber she gave to Remus. "The duel goes till one of us submits…or death."

Grinning wildly, Fenrir pulled a long curved and serrated knife from behind his back and handed it off to the man beside him. He then took out his wand and passed it over to the blond woman. "Agreed. And soon I'll be claiming you as my bitch right here on the floor. Then I'm going to have you bite the bastard Potter boy. Then I'll rip off his arms and legs so he can do nothing but watch like a good little pup as I lay claim to you again and again."

Nox blinked. It wasn't the worst insult ever to have hurled at her. But Fenrir had just made a grave mistake. "You utter foul. I was going to let you die quick but now you had to go and threaten my son. No. You're death won't be quick. You're going to have to suffer first."

Fenrir blinked, and for just a moment Nox could sense fear within him. "No. You're going to suffer bitch."

"Nice comeback." Nox smirked walking towards. Then without warning she completely changed her tone to upbeat and cheerful. "But before we start. Let us discuss the finer rules to our fight."

Fenrir's stance relaxed slightly as he looked at her confused. "What are you talking about? We already discussed those! There are no rules outside of-oph!"

The entire time Fenrir had been talking, Nox had been steadily making her way towards him. When she was close enough she lashed out and landed a kick right between the werewolf's legs hard enough to lift him off the ground by a good foot. "Okay, I guess there are no rules." She said as Fenrir crashed to the ground holding onto his ruined manhood. "Someone say; one, two, three go."

"One two three go."

The moment Sirius said go, Nox brought her right fist down hard right into Fenrir's unprotected temple. Fenrir threw a wild counter punch, which Nox causally side stepped before landing a kick into the man's floating ribs hard enough to crack them both.

"Weapons!" Fenrir shouted as he staggered off to the side.

Backing off, Nox retreated back to Remus and Sirius while Fenrir hobbled over to the man holding his knife. "I don't need it." She said when Remus offered her the lightsaber. "He's not much of a challenge after all."

That just enraged Fenrir more who after retrieving his knife charged at her head first.

Nox waited until Fenrir was almost on top of her before side stepping and throwing a kick into his unprotected midsection. The force of the impact made the werewolf do a full somersault over her leg before landing hard on his back. Not allowing him to catch his breath, Nox stomped down and dug her heel into the hand that was holding onto the dagger. Fenrir screamed as several bones in his hand audibly cracked beneath her heel.

"Wands!"

Once again letting Fenrir up, Nox walked back towards Sirius and Remus only to once again wave off her wand.

Fenrir yanked his wand so hard from the blond woman's hands that he actually ended up sending her to the ground. " _Avada kedavra!"_

With a slight turn of her shoulders, Nox calmly watched as the green light passed her by. Luckily both Remus and Sirius had had the good sense to get out of the way as well and were now standing far off to the side to avoid any stray spells. "So that was the 'killing curse'. Hmm, interesting."

Fenrir snarled, small spittle's of spit flying from the corners of his lips. His anger was so great that he could hardly even be considered human anymore. He was a beast in a man's skin. " _Avada kedavra! Avada kedavra!_ Hold still you bitch! _Avada kedavra!"_

With each spell she dodged, Fenrir became more and more enraged. Soon enough his rage became great enough that he couldn't even aim properly and Nox no longer had to dodge. "Enough of this." She said as another spell passed harmlessly over her shoulder. "Time to suffer."

Thrusting out her right hand, she hit Fenrir with a Force push. But instead of just letting Fenrir fall to the ground, Nox kept the pressure up so she was holding him against the wall. "Where's your bravado Greyback?" She asked, curling her fingers as she choked the werewolf. "Weren't you going to make me your bitch?"

Letting him drop to the ground Nox crossed her arms over her chest as he gasped desperately for air. "I'll fucking kill you bitch!" Fenrir screamed, losing all sense of self as he abandoned his wand and charged her.

Waiting until the last moment, Nox raised her hand and froze the frenzied werewolf dead in his tracks. "I am no one's bitch." She said, using the Force to put an excruciating amount of pressure onto each of his joints, until he collapsed onto his hands and knees before her. "You…are mine."

Channeling all of her rage, Nox sent out a barrage of Force lightning onto the kneeling werewolf. Fenrir screamed in utter agony as Nox completely cut loose. Threats against herself she could ignore. But this man threatened her son. And that was something she simply could not allow.

When she finally relented her assault, the entire cavern smelled of smoldering flesh and burnt hair. But despite the utter agony he'd just been subject too, Fenrir Greyback yet still lived. Rolling the smoldering body over with her foot, Nox calmly circled Fenrir while staring out at the stunned faces of the werewolf's. "You're alpha is defeated." She said loudly over Fenrir's moans. "His life is now mine."

Walking past Fenrir she made her way towards a stunned Sirius and an equally stunned Remus. Although in the latter's case she could detect the faintest amount of satisfaction rolling off of him. Placing her hand on Remus's shoulder she leaned in close to him. "Remus. I leave his fate to you. You can have your vengeance and serve justice for those whose lives he's ruined. Or you can let him live. The choice is yours. Just remember…there are some who do not seek nor deserve redemption."

No one spoke a word as Remus stayed rooted to his spot. Then he stepped forward. One step at a time until he was standing over the whimpering monster that had cursed his life. A loud snap and hiss echoed throughout the cavern as her lightsaber came to life in his hands.

Then with a wild cry Remus brought her lightsaber down, piercing Greyback right through the chest. Then he struck again. And again. And again. Each strike accented with a wild cry from the normally reserved man. By the time Remus finally took a step back, tears were falling freely from his eyes and the thing that was Greyback was now nothing more than a pile of hacked up burnt flesh.

"Traitorous bastard!"

To his credit, Remus didn't even hesitate. With the grace that would make even a seasoned blade master envious, Remus sidestepped and slashed across his body. The male werewolf that'd been standing beside Greyback managed only to take two more steps past Remus before he fell to ground in two pieces.

Stepping up behind Remus, Nox sent out gentle waves of the Force in an effort to pull him back from his animal rage. Slowly his shoulders started to relax and his posture slackened. Her lightsaber deactivated and he turned around to face her. His eyes still held the beast rage within them, but it was in check now.

Taking her lightsaber back she patted Remus on the shoulder once more before stepping past him and fixing the blond haired woman with a level look. "Is there anyone else?"

The blond woman visibly swallowed. Slowly she sunk down onto both of her knees and bowed her head before moving her hair off to the side to expose the back of her neck. A sign of submission. Her actions started a chain reaction as one by one every werewolf in the cave sunk to their knees and bared their necks to her.

Moving so that she was standing before the blond haired woman, Nox waited to see if the last leader of the werewolf's would make a move against her. "What's your name?"

"Aela."

"Stand Aela." She said offering her hand. "I did not come before you today to make you my servants. I came before you today to offer you all an opportunity. One that I was sure the likes of Greyback would never accept."

Aela's head snapped up in surprise. Her eyes darted back and forth between Nox's offered hand and her face. "You…you killed Greyback just to have the chance to offer us an…opportunity? For what?"

"To have a normal life." Nox answered keeping her hand out. "Or at least as normal as you can."

The woman blinked. Hesitated a moment longer. And then took the offered hand and rose to her feet. "What are you offering us?"

"I have large factory that is near completion." Nox began pacing back and forth. "I am offering you all a chance to have a steady job that incorporates both the magical and non-magical worlds. You will all be given fair wages. And you will all be given a home. One that you will not be forced out of."

Murmurs broke out amongst the werewolves in the cave. Whatever the blond woman had been expecting Nox to say, apparently that wasn't it. Finally after several long moments the blond woman spoke. "What's the catch?"

"The catch," Nox smirked looking around. "Is that if you leave the complex you will not be welcome back. But those who stay I promise that you will not be slaves or servants. You will be treated as normal people. And not only that…but in time those who wish to will be given a chance to strike back at the worlds that have turned their backs on them. So what say you?"

The woman bit her lip and looked around. "Most of us hated Greyback because he represented the worst of us. Yet we still followed him because he was our alpha. You defeated him in combat…you are now our alpha. You and Remus there, yes Remus we know who you are. We will follow you two. Just as we followed Greyback."

At her proclamation, every werewolf in the cavern howled their approval. Standing in the center of the cavern Nox tilted her head back and let the howls echo around her. There were few things more satisfying than successfully building a strong powerbase. "Remus will take you all to your new homes in a few days once the full moon has passed." Nox announced as the howling died down.

"I would have Remus stay with us till then." Aela said quickly, making Remus do a double take and Nox to blink. Although Nox saw right through the offer. She'd sensed it the moment Remus had killed the brute. ' _Oh Remus…you're going to be in for some fun.'_ "He is one of us. And it is time he takes his place. Especially now that he has defeated one of the alphas."

Turning towards Remus, Nox just shrugged. "It's your choice Remus."

Remus looked clearly conflicted as he looked around the cavern. "Oh just go for it Remus." Sirius said lightly punching Remus in the arm. "I'm sure Nox and I can stay out of trouble for a few days."

That seemed to convince Remus who nodded. "Alright…I'll stay."

"Splendid." Nox said clapping her hands. "Remus will stay with you for now. And after the full moon will escort you all to your new home. And Remus…try not to get into too much trouble."

* * *

"Wake up Harry! Presents! Harry we've got presents!"

Rolling over in his bed, Harry grabbed his pillow and blindly threw it towards his one remaining roommate. His aim proved true as he heard an 'umpf' coming from Ron as his pillow hit the redhead upside the head. It wasn't that Harry was tired, far from it in fact. He just didn't feel much like celebrating at the moment.

While the school year had definitely taken an upturn after Halloween, with Hermione turning into his pseudo-student and pseudo-rival. His mother had given him her consent to show Hermione a few things. Mainly how to organize one's mind and how to better absorb knowledge. However, he needed to be careful of just how much he showed or told her. Hermione, as brilliant as she was, had no mental barriers. And there were at least two individuals that they knew of that had no qualms about looking into a child's mind. So that is what he did. He began teaching her the basics of mental defenses, as well as how to absorb knowledge through the Force, or magic as it were.

But as the old saying went, everything that goes up must come down. And for Harry, everything had come crashing down two weeks before the Christmas break. He'd been looking forward to returning home and seeing his mother again…but then one morning Hedwig arrived with a letter from his mother. In short…she wanted him to stay at Hogwarts over the winter break and attempt to find out whatever it was Dumbledore was hiding on the third floor while she dealt with 'other matters' outside of the school.

The only upside to the whole let down was that Susan and Daphne would be at the school as well over the break. The three of them had developed a messaging system of sorts. They each had a scheduled time to head to the Owlery and once there they would call down the owl of the recipient and send off the note. The owls would then intermingle with all of the other school owls that arrived during breakfast and drop off the message as if it were another piece of mail.

With the need for secrecy lessened, Harry had been looking forward to spending some more time with his fellow apprentices…but any time he might've spent with them was hampered by the presence of his 'friend' Ron Weasley.

While Ron's remittance into Harry's 'grace's' had not come easily, Harry had eventually said enough was enough and told the red head that if they truly wanted to be friends, then he would have to apologize for what he said to Hermione. He did, although seemingly grudgingly. But now Harry was starting to second guess his decision to stay on even speaking terms with him. Sure he was fun at times, and his brothers were certainly entertaining. The boys prejudice pretty much assured that Harry would never be able to spend open time with Daphne because she was a 'filthy dark snake', which nearly earned Ron a broken jaw the first time he said it.

But despite Ron, the three of them still managed to meet up in unused classrooms every other night while the few remaining teachers and students slept. While together, the three would train either physically or with the Force for the first part of the night. And then use the second to catch up on everything. It was actually quite fun being with his fellow apprentices once more. After being separated from them for so long and being with his own house mates, he hadn't realized just how much he missed them both. Also, trying to avoid the hundreds of portraits around the castle was quite entertaining. The only problem was the Fat Lady, the guardian to the Gryffindor common room. She had no problems letting him out just before curfew, but that meant that he couldn't sleep in his bed until morning.

"Come on Harry! We have presents! Get up!"

With a sigh, Harry rolled out of bed and turned to look at his one remaining dorm mate. Ron was sitting cross legged on his bed, a box of chocolate frogs opened and empty sat next to him while he dug his way through an open box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. "You've got quite the haul mate." Ron said nodding towards the foot of Harry's bed.

He wasn't lying. There were quite a few wrapped packages at the foot of his bed. Nearly two-thirds of which looked to be books. Sliding down to the foot of his bed, he grabbed the first package off the top, a lumpy package that'd been wrapped in thick brown paper and tied together with small pieces of twine. Inside was a crudely carved flute along with a note from Hagrid.

Harry, along with Hermione and Ron, had actually made at least two trips down to Hagrid's hut between Halloween and Christmas. The man was nice, if more than a little naïve in Harry's opinion. But it was still nice to hear about his parents from another individual who'd been around them.

Setting the flute aside, he reached for another gift. The next one was a square box roughly a hand's length on each side with a letter attached to the front. Taking the letter off, he swallowed as he recognized his mother's neat script.

' _My Dearest Son-_

 _I know that you were looking forward to us spending the winter holiday's together, and truthfully so was I. Know that had there been any other way around this unfortunate arrangement I would've accepted it in a heartbeat. But as you know…we are on a tight schedule. I know that it does not make up for us being apart…but I've sent you something that I've shown no other. My own personal holocron that contains everything that I've learned and experimented with. Guard it well my son. And know that even if we are not together…you are always the first and last thought in my heart. And that I am proud of you._

 _Love, Mother'._

"Harry mate, you alright?"

"Yeah." Harry said rubbing at the corners of his eyes. "Just a letter from my mother apologizing for us not being together over the holidays."

"Hmm…so what did she get you?"

Peering into the small box, Harry could just barely make out the tip of the small pyramid within. "Something personal." He said, closing the box back up and placing it near his pillow.

Grabbing the next gift, Harry was more than a little confused when he didn't recognize the writing ontop of the package. ' _Your father left this cloak in my possession before he died. Now I return it to you as he would've wanted. Use it well. – May you have a merry Christmas'._

Opening the package, he was even more confused when a silver robe fell out from within. "What is it?" Ron asked, putting his candy aside as Harry picked up the robe to inspect it.

"I'm not sure." Harry said. He could feel the Force emanating from the object…so it was enchanted somehow. But for what he didn't know.

Throwing the cloak around his shoulders he turned towards Ron. "Well? How does it look?"

Ron though, was looking at him completely wide-eyed. "H-H-Harry…look down!"

Not sure what was confusing Ron, Harry looked down. "What the…my body's gone!"

"I know what that is!" Ron said standing and coming over towards Harry. "It's an invisibility cloak…they're supposed to be extremely rare. Who gave it to you?"

Harry nearly winced at the sheer amount of jealousy that was rolling off of his dorm mate. "There was no name." Picking up the note with his invisible hand, he handed it over to Ron. "It just say's that this used to belong to my father…and that I should use it well."

Ron stared at the note for a moment before smiling. "Think of all the sneaking around we could do! We could find the kitchen and go there in the middle of the night! Or we could-"

Harry tuned out Ron as he listed off all the things they could do with the cloak. There was only one thing that Harry could think of at that moment. And that was that someone had just gifted him the perfect means for Daphne, Susan, and himself to reach the third floor completely unnoticed.

* * *

With everyone gone for winter holidays, it had been easy for Harry to reach both the Hufflepuff and the Slytherin common rooms with his cloak. And now he, Susan, and Daphne were all huddled together under his cloak as they made their way past the many hundreds of portraits on their way to the third floor corridor that'd been declared off limits.

Entering the third floor corridor, the three of them shed the cloak and made their way over to the door. Reaching out Harry gave the handle an experimental tug only to find it locked. "Worth a shot." Harry said as the two girls gave him a, 'what were you expecting' look.

Lifting his hand, he reached out with the Force into the small key hole. Unlocking wasn't a particularly difficult task. But it did require no small amount of patience and a fair amount of dexterity. Finding the right combination, Harry turned the tumblers and unlocked the door. "There," he said pushing open the door. "No problem."

"…you just had to say it. Didn't you Harry?"

There was a problem. A roughly one ton problem with three heads that were all staring at the three youngsters like they were a light midnight snack. "Merlin!" Susan breathed as Harry just barely managed to shut the door before the large dog like creature slammed into the other side. "What are they thinking keeping a Cerberus of all things in the school? Morgana…I thought that a troll was bad."

"I think that just about confirms it Harry." Daphne added unfurling the cloak once more. "First a troll, now a Cerberus. Dumbledore and teachers are hiding something important up here. Something that they are willing to kill to protect."

"We need to tell mother." Harry agreed signaling for the girls to follow him. "I don't know about you two, but I don't know a thing about Cerberus's. So we'll need to research – wait…what's that?"

A light was slowly ascending up the stairs, accompanied by the sound several pairs of feet running up the stairs. Acting fast, Harry and the two girls quickly ducked beneath the cloak and pressed themselves up against the wall just in time to see Snape and Filch run into the corridor.

"Has to be those blasted kids Professor." Filch cursed. "Always getting into trouble…need to bring back whipping just like in the old days."

Snape though, didn't appear to be listening to the caretaker. Instead he went up to the door that contained the Cerberus, pulled out his wand and cast several spells around it. After nothing happened, he spun back around sharply and started scanning the hall.

Harry had to fight to keep his breathing steady and quiet, as did both Susan and Daphne who were pressed up against him. After several very long moments Snape finally shook his head and marched passed them. "If it was students…that means that they are out of bed past curfew as well as out of bounds." Snape said passing by Filch. "And that they are still around here somewhere."

"Right behind you Professor." Filch said, almost giggling with the prospect of catching students out of bounds.

"How that man ever became part of the staff here at Hogwarts, I will never know." Daphne breathed once the light from Filch lamp disappeared down the stairs.

"Which one? Snape or Filch." Harry asked as the three of them began moving once more.

"Both." Susan answered quickly. "I swear. After this year is done I'm seriously going to have my Aunt look into both of those men. Neither are suitable for being around children…or other people in general."

Harry made to respond, but the words died on his lips as he heard something.

Stopping in his tracks, he stared off down the third floor corridor opposite of the door containing the Cerberus. "Harry?" Daphne asked nudging him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Harry said casting on last look down the hall. "It's just that I thought-"

' _…Harry…'_

This time Harry jerked hard enough to make both Susan and Daphne stumble. "Morgana Harry!" Susan cried. "Are you trying to get all of us caught?"

"Did you two hear anything just now?" Harry asked, ignoring Susan's question.

"What?" Both girls asked looking at one another.

"I could've sworn that I just heard someone say my name."

Both girls looked down the hall in the direction Harry was facing. "There's nothing there." Daphne said after a minute. "Come on. It won't take long for Snape and Filch to finish sweeping the corridors. And then they'll head to the dorms. And I for one do not want to have to suffer Filch leering at me in detention."

Forcing the strange occurrence to the back of his mind, Harry nodded and followed the two girls out of the corridor and back to their dorms.

But after dropping both girls back off, his curiosity got the better of him and he made his way back up to the third floor. This time instead of heading towards the door with the Cerberus, he made his way down the other way. Towards the end of the hall there was a single door that was slightly ajar.

' _…Harry…'_

This time there was no doubt. Someone, or something, was saying his name directly into his mind. And it was originating from this room. Despite all of the training his mother had given him concerning traps, specifically not falling into them, Harry couldn't help himself and slowly opened the door wide enough so that he could squeeze in.

The room was completely empty. Save for a large object covered by a white sheet in the middle of the room.

Taking his cloak off, Harry slowly approached the covered object while reaching out with the Force. Whatever it was…it had some level of inherent Force to it. But he couldn't detect whether it was malevolent or benevolent.

His curiosity finally getting the better of him, Harry reached out and pulled off the sheet in one swift move. Underneath was a large full length mirror encased in a gold ornate frame that was covered with runes and strange symbols. At the top of the mirror was the word 'Erised'.

' _Erised? What does that…oh. Desire. Well…what does that mean-'_

His thoughts were cut off as he stepped up in front of the mirror. With a flick of his wrist his lightsaber and wand were in his hands as he spun around…only to be greeted with an empty room.

Thoroughly confused, he turned back to face the mirror. He was alone in the room…but his reflection wasn't alone in the mirror. Standing beside him was his mother. And standing on either side of them were his birth parents. All three of them were smiling at him.

"Mother." He breathed looking at Nox, who smiled and nodded. "Mum…dad?"

His birth mother smiled at him before kneeling next to his mirror image and placing a hand on his shoulder. It was so…real. He could almost feel her touch even though he knew that she wasn't there. "I've never forgotten you." He whispered, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes as he stared at his mother and father. He wanted to look away…but he couldn't. He just stood there for only the Force knew how long, staring into the mirror as his parent's slowly became more and more animated before his eyes.

"I see that you, like many before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

Closing his eyes, Harry sighed and turned around. "Hello Headmaster."

Behind him, Headmaster Dumbledore gave him what Sirius described as his 'grandfatherly' smile. "Good evening Harry." Dumbledore said not moving from his spot just within the door. "I should say that I am surprised to see you up at this hour…but I suppose there is a certain allure to sneaking about one believes that no one is looking. And I see that you, like so many before you have discovered the wonders of the Mirror of Erised."

"It's not wondrous Headmaster," Harry said casting a quick glance back at the mirror before averting his eyes. "It's insidious."

Dumbledore's eye brows rose. "Insidious? An interesting choice of words. Tell me why you think so?"

"It shows you what you desire most." Harry answered. "But more than that…I shows you exactly what you think you need to make your life complete, whether achievable or not. It completely entraps whoever looks into it…and slowly whatever you see reflected on the surface becomes more real than the outside world."

Dumbledore seemed completely surprised by his answer. "That is perhaps the best explanation I have ever heard Harry. Tell me…how did you come to such a conclusion?"

Grabbing the sheet off the floor, Harry threw it over the mirror while being careful not to look directly at it again. "When I first looked at it…it showed only me. Then it showed me something that I wanted. And the longer I looked at it…the more real the reflection became. I…I couldn't look away. If you hadn't come…I probably would've still been looking at it."

"Hmm…very observant Harry." Dumbledore said walking forward so that he was standing before the mirror. "Many have wasted away staring at this mirror. It is indeed a wonderful and dangerous object to behold. But you don't need to worry about it. Tomorrow this mirror will be moved to a new home. And I must that you not go looking for it again."

"No need to worry about that Headmaster. I don't think I ever want to see it again." Harry made a few steps towards the door but then stopped as his curiosity got the better of him. "Tell me sir…what is it that you see in the mirror?"

"Socks."

"…Socks?"

"Yes Harry. When you reach my age you begin to appreciate the small things in life. When I look at this mirror…all I see is myself holding up a pair of warm wool socks."

It was a lie. But Harry didn't feel like calling the old man on it. "Goodnight Headmaster."

"Goodnight Harry. And please try to refrain from sneaking out so much. Or if you must…at least try to pull a good prank or two. You're father always had a talent for making life interesting while he had that cloak on him."

* * *

Walking through the corridors of the Ministry, Arthur Weasley fought to suppress the yawn that was threatening to leave him. It was nearly seven in the evening…and he'd been at the Ministry since six that morning. ' _And I still have to log in everything from the raid yesterday before I can go home.'_ He sighed. ' _Molly's going to kill me for being late again.'_

Unfortunately, not being home much at all had been a common occurrence as of late. Not because of work, at least not fully. But because of what he was trying to do.

He was proud of his family and of himself. But he'd be lying if there weren't times when he wished for more. More money. More recognition. More to leave his family once he was gone. Just…more.

Little more than half a century ago the Weasley's had been amongst the most prominent, wealthy, and powerful families in Britain rivaling even the Potters and Blacks. But after the war with Grindelwald everything had fallen apart. His family had tried to help some of the muggleborns who'd sided with Grindelwald but had come to realize their mistake. They were caught by none other than the newly arrived Malfoy's and publicly destroyed. Arthur's grandparents had both been sentenced to Azkaban for treason. Their family seat in the Wizengamot was taken from them. And his family had been fined to the breaking point. In the end the only thing they'd been allowed to keep was a small plot of country land upon which the Burrow now stood.

Arthur had been fighting his whole life to try and bring some manner of honor back to his family name. The deck had, and still was, stacked against him. Despite his position as the Head of a Department, his family history ensured that his wage was less than sixty percent that of the other department heads. But despite everything, Arthur pushed on. Sometimes going without eating just to make sure his family could.

He'd been content for the longest time. He had a home. A loving family. And overall a good life. But now with his children growing up and starting to forge lives of their own…he wanted to leave his family more than just a broken family name. And unfortunately there was only one way to do that in the wizarding world. And that was to become involved in politics. Something Arthur hatted with a passion.

Ever since the Ministry had passed the bill that restricted the hiring of muggleborns, Arthur had seen his opportunity. If he could get a bill of his own passed that guaranteed some rights back to the muggleborns as well as protection to their families, he could be seen as a champion of the muggleborns. It wouldn't be much, but he would've been able to use that to leverage his family back onto the Wizengamot.

As of last week he'd managed to complete his bill. It would offer more rights back to the muggleborns while guaranteeing protecting for their families as well. But now he'd run into his next road block. He needed a sponsor for his bill. If he were to present it to the Wizengamot as it currently stood, it would be rejected outright just because his name was on the top of it. So he needed someone who would not only head the campaign for the bill, but also allow him to still take credit. The only problem was there were only three names that he could think of to ask. Lord Black. Madam Bones. And Madam Nox. Each of whom were so high above him in stasis that it would be considered an insult for him to ever be in the same room as them let alone proposition them for support.

Opening the door to his office, Arthur mentally prepared himself for a long night of paper work and sleeping on the couch. "Mr. Weasley…I must say that you've kept me waiting long enough."

Freezing, Arthur's head turned slowly towards his desk. Sitting in the visitor's seat with a book in one hand was none other than Madam Nox. "Well Arthur…are you going to offer me a drink or just stand there like a fish out of water?"

Arthur somehow managed to pull himself together after only embarrassing himself for another minute. "Madam Nox! Umm…sorry. I wasn't expecting you. I have…well I can get some tea going and…."

"Hehe…you are too tightly wound up Arthur, I can call you Arthur can't I? Just relax and have a seat already. This is your office after all."

"Of course!" Arthur swallowed, moving around and sitting opposite of the woman. "Forgive me Madam Nox…you've caught me off guard."

Closing her book, Madam Nox fixed him with a stare that made him more than slightly uncomfortable. And for more than one reason. "Truthfully Arthur…it is you who's caught me off guard."

"Madam Nox?"

"Your bill Arthur." Nox said completely catching Arthur off guard. "The one that you are more than likely hoping that either Sirius, Amelia, or I will sponsor."

Arthur's mind started racing. How could she have found out? "Madam Nox I-"

"I'll sponsor your bill Arthur."

"…What?"

Madam Nox fixed him with a stare. "I said that I'll sponsor your bill Arthur. Provided of course that I agree with everything within. What I am disappointed in Arthur, is that I had to seek you out rather than the other way around."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Arthur fought to keep his voice steady. "It – it wouldn't have been proper for me to approach you so openly, Madam Nox."

"Psh. Like I care for propriety." Nox said dismissively. "So Arthur…are you going to tell me about this bill of yours? Or are we just going to sit here and stare awkwardly at each other?"

Moving quickly, Arthur opened one of his bottom desk drawers and pulled out the thick parchment that he'd hidden at the bottom of the drawer. Unfurling it, he handed it off to Nox. "My first thought was how to undo the limitations that have been placed on muggleborns concerning job placement."

* * *

"Here ya' go Harry. Sorry if they be a little tough."

"No they're fine Hagrid." Harry said taking one of the large scones from the offered tray and taking a small bite from it. "They're quite good."

Hagrid beamed at him before turning around to rummage around his small cabin for two cups for tea. "Kinda caught me by surprise here Harry. If I'd known you were comin' I would'a prepared something better. Speakin of…where's Ron an' Hermione?"

"Hermione wanted to finish up a paper for Astronomy that's due tomorrow." Harry said. "And Ron…well Ron hadn't even started it yet so I assume he's still begging at Hermione's ankles to help him out."

Accepting his answer, Hagrid took the tea kettle off the fire and pour out the hot water in the two cup's. It wasn't necessarily surprising that Hagrid was curious about the lack of Ron and Hermione. Lately the three of them had become almost attached at the hip. Although in truth it was more like Ron was following Hermione and Harry around like a lost puppy. Lately the three of them had been doing quite a bit together…including helping Hagrid hatch, raise, and smuggle a dragon out of Hogwarts.

Which was definitely not something that Harry wanted to repeat any time in the future as the trio had nearly been caught while trying to get the adolescent dragon to the top of the astronomy tower by Draco Malfoy and Filch. It wasn't that he was scared of getting into trouble…not really. More that he was scared of his mother's reaction to him getting caught getting into trouble. He really needed to figure out a decent 'thank you'

"So how ye'r enjoyin classes so far Harry?"

"Good." Harry answered taking the offered cup of tea. "Except for History and Potions. I really don't think that Snape likes me at all. And History…I think Binns just needs to pass on. Not even sure he realizes he's still teaching."

It was the truth. Harry was more than tempted to ask his mother if she knew of any Force ritual that could banish the dead. He was pretty sure that he would end up a school icon if he could get rid of the old ghost. And as for Snape…the man was a constant thorn in Harry's side. His mental attacks against Harry had become more and more subtle over the course of the year, but they were still persisting. He'd written to his mother asking for her advice. To which she'd told him to just ignore the attacks. Calling him out at the moment would garner him attention that he was better left without.

Those two weren't the only teachers that he was curious about though. Professor Quirrell, while seemingly an incompetent idiot, was hiding something. There was a darkness about the professor. Sometimes more so, sometimes less so. But still…Harry could never pin down the source of the darkness or just why it seemed so familiar to him.

"Hahaha! You're not the first to think that 'bout ol' Binns. But Snape…Snape may be rough but Dumbledore trust him…that's enough for me."

"Then why was Snape trying to get passed the Cerberus that's up in the castle?"

Hagrid dropped the cup that he was holding. "How do you know about Fluffy?"

"Fluffy? The Cerberus has a name?"

"Well of course he does!" Hagrid laughed. "He's mine after all. I lent him to Dumbledore to protect the…I shouldn't have said that. Forget I said anything Harry."

So they were protecting something. "Still doesn't change the fact that Snape was trying to get passed him." Harry said offhandedly. He did feel kind of bad about manipulating the gentle giant, but he needed to find out just what was going on.

"Pah, Snape is one of the Professors protecting the stone – I really shouldn't have said that. Stop asking so many questions Harry."

So each professor was adding a layer onto the protections surrounding this 'stone'. "Sorry Hagrid…I'm just curious that's all. As is most of the school. I think there is actually a running bet going on in Ravenclaw about what's up there."

Setting his cup aside, Hagrid lent over so that the two were nearly eye level to one another. "Listen to me Harry. You're gettin' yourself involved in matters best left alone. What is up there is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

There. Harry had a name. "You're right Hagrid…so tell me! Do you have any new creatures? Have you heard anything about Norbert?"

Hagrid's face broke out into a wide grin. "Yah. Charlie be'n wright'n to me about little Norbert. Says he's growing up to be a fine dragon. Cute little bugger."

* * *

"Just what the bloody hell is Dumbledore thinking?" Sirius raved, pacing back and forth in front of Nox, Amelia, Cyrus, Evelyn, Remus, and Aela. "Hiding the Sorcerer's Stone of all things in a school full of children? Good Merlin…the man has completely lost his mind."

"I know that I'm the new one here and am not fully up to speed on everything…but how do we know that they even have the stone in the first place?" Aela asked, stopping Sirius dead in his tracks. "I mean, you've all admitted that this Hagrid person, while nice, can't keep a secret to save his life. So why would Dumbledore tell him that they're guarding one of the most dangerous objects in the wizarding world in the castle?"

"She has a point." Evelyn Greengrass said, her brow furrowing. "If I were hiding something so valuable…I would not trust a person like Hagrid to retrieve it."

"My contacts in Gringott's have confirmed that Hagrid was in the bank and emptied the very vault that'd been broken into just before the start of the school year. And if I can confirm his presence, there is no doubt that whoever broke into the bank could as well." Leaning back in her seat, Nox tried to think. "What exactly can this stone do?"

"Honestly…no one is really sure as the only person to every correctly forge one is Flemmel." Remus answered. "But according to rumor it can transmute lead into true gold. And it is essential in the creation of the elixir of life. Although how exactly one goes about making that is another mystery altogether."

"There is another rumor. A dark one." Cyrus added. "It's said that the stone is primary component in creating an authentic artificial human body. Without it, all you get is a homunculus. And a dangerously flawed one at that."

"So that's it then." Nox smirked as everything finally clicked in her mind.

"What's it then?" Sirius asked.

Picking up her glass, Nox took a slow drink of her wine. "Only a fool would transmute lead into gold. A sudden increase in gold quantities would devalue it and make it worthless. The elixir of life? Useful. But only one person knows how to create it." Although she would be paying this Flemmel a visit once she could. "So that only leaves one use."

"The creation of a body." Remus breathed. "And there's only one person in the world who needs a new body that we know of."

"Yes." Nox sighed. "Voldemort."

Around the room, Nox could see everyone make the connection that she'd just made. "Wait a second…" Sirius stammered. "Are you saying that Dumbledore is hiding the stone, where true or not, in the school in an attempt to make Voldemort come out into the open?"

"It's a possibility." Nox nodded.

"But why?" Amelia pushed. "What would be his motivation put the very children he is in charge of safeguarding at risk?"

"Who's to say?" Nox shrugged. "Perhaps he's trying to flush him out to prove his continued existence. Maybe he's trying to force a confrontation between the two of them while he believes Voldemort is vulnerable. Or maybe…this is all a test for Harry."

"A test for Harry? Why would Dumbledore do that?" Sirius asked.

Downing the last of her wine, Nox placed her empty glass back onto the table. "Think about it. If Dumbledore is truly trying to lure Voldemort out into the open that means he knows that he's still alive. He might not know how, but he knows that he is. So why not try to lure him out earlier? Why wait until Harry, a boy he has expressed great interest in, is at school? The only logical reason is that he is either using Harry as bait as well. Or he is hoping to push a confrontation between the two of them. Not to mention… he has already shown Harry two of the obstacles guarding the stone. The Cerberus and the mirror."

"Shite." Sirius cursed dropping down into his seat and rubbing at his eyes. "So what can we do?"

"At the moment? Nothing. We need to trust in Harry and the girls to take care of whatever is going on at that school while we continue to prepare things on our end."

* * *

The rest of the school year passed by fairly tamely when compared to the beginning. There were no trolls within the school halls. No dragons to smuggle out of the school. And on orders from his mother, no attempts to get passed the Cerberus on the third floor.

His lessons with Hermione were going remarkably well. In one of her letters, his mother had approved of him teaching Hermione a few basic memory techniques. And said that during the summer she would invite the Grangers over to see for herself if Hermione was truly worth sponsoring or not. In Harry's opinion she was. But she had one major drawback that his mother would not approve of. Her lack of imagination and utter adherence to 'the book'. The Force pretty much demanded creativity and the belief that there were no limits outside of the ones the user placed on themselves. And while it was possible that his mother would sponsor her…Hermione would need a lot of work in order to be accepted as an acolyte.

Ron was…well Ron. He was nice enough and seemed like a good friend. But his lack of attention or even willingness to learn was starting to grate on Harry's nerves more than slightly.

His correspondence with Susan and Daphne was continuing as planned. Both of his fellow apprentices had worked through much of their individual holocrons, and the trio had switched off which holocrons they had some time ago. But if there was one thing he truly cursed about this school, it was what the segregation of houses had done to his, Susan's, and Daphne's close knit relationship. Sure he could talk to Susan without incident. But Daphne…he risked both her and himself if he dared approach her outside of class or the library. Which was partially why the two of them often spent so much time in the library. It gave them an excuse to at least be near one another without drawing suspicion.

With the end of term fast approaching, most of the students within the school were starting to become more than slightly tense with the prospect of exams hanging over their heads. Even Harry was starting to become more than slightly agitated…but for a completely different reason.

For the past two weeks Harry had been having…premonitions every night while he slept. The first night he couldn't make out anything other than screaming. The second night he was able to make out a little more. Hermione and Ron…being bound by something. Ron crying out in panic and pain, and then the vision ended. Each night he was able to gain more and more clarity within the vision. He saw Ron falling off a stone statue of a horse…of Hermione being sucked down into a mass of vines…he saw pain.

Then without warning the vision's changed. And it was no longer Hermione and Ron in them, but rather Daphne and Susan. But the result was the same none the less. The two would follow him…become injured and then disappear. Despite the stark contrast between the contents of the two visions…they share two common threads. The first was that the events started immediately after Dumbledore left the castle. And they always ended with a two-faced man standing before a mirror.

The visons started become so lucid and frequent that Harry was unable to sleep. The lack of sleep, the mild stress from exams, and the frustration of not being able to understand the vision had led Harry to become more than somewhat disagreeable with his fellow house mates.

He wasn't quite sure just how he managed to get through all of his exams, not that they were too terribly difficult to begin with. His mother's small tests were leaps and bounds beyond anything the professors were asking.

With the last of their tests done, the students of Hogwarts were all in the Great Hall enjoying dinner. All except Harry that was. "Harry mate! Come on lighten up! Exams are over with for the year!" Ron said, once more shoveling food onto his plate.

Ignoring his house mate, Harry instead focused on the staff table. Specifically the three empty seats. "Has anyone seen Dumbledore, Snape or Quirrell?" He asked looking around at his housemates. "It's kind of odd that they aren't here isn't it?"

"It's not too terribly surprising. Most of the Professors are probably grading papers." Percy Weasley answered for him. "As for Dumbledore, there is a large vote today in the Wizengamot. It's expected to actually go on for most of the night and continue first thing tomorrow morning so he's probably sleeping at the Ministry. It's a bill dealing with the regulation and registration of dark creatures and whether or not the Ministry needs to reclassify certain creatures as-"

Harry tuned out Percy as he continued to talk. Dumbledore was gone. And would be for the entire night by the sound of it. The first part of his vision. And with Snape and Quirell missing…it was a fair bet that one of them, or both, were the two-faced man.

Later at night while the rest of the students slept, Harry laid wide awake in his bed staring up at the curtains. ' _If the two-faced man is going to make his move…this is his only opportunity.'_

There was no question about going after him. This two-faced man was connected to Voldemort somehow. His mother had been training him in how to destroy Voldemort and his followers since he could walk. No. The question was whether he should take anyone with him.

His vision left had pointedly shown him that if he did bring his friends…then they would end up either injured or killed. He genuinely liked Susan, Daphne, Hermione, and even Ron. He couldn't just put them into harm's way…could he? Every vision he'd had showed them getting hurt. But in none of him did he ever see himself get hurt.

Eventually his fear for his friends won out.

Swinging his legs over the edge of his bed, Harry made his way over to his trunk and opened the clothing compartment. Digging through his clothes, he pulled out a black pant, shirt, and robe combination that his mother had designed after a Sith acolytes robes. Or so she said.

Dressing quickly, Harry strapped his wand holster onto his left wrist before strapping his lightsaber holster onto his right. Pulling the hood up, Harry reached down into the trunk and pulled out his father's invisibility cloak. Swiging the cloak over his shoulders, Harry made his way past his snoring dorm mates and out of the Gryffindor dorms.

* * *

Just as he had during Christmas, Harry managed to get to the third floor corridor underneath his cloak without anyone being the wiser. More than once he'd debated going and collecting Susan and Daphne…but his visions. Whether they were true or not he just couldn't risk something happening to anyone.

Reaching the third floor corridor, he walked over towards the door which he knew contained the Cerberus. Just like before, he raised his hand and used the Force to manipulate the tumblers to open. With a click the lock disengaged and the door slowly opened. As it did, Harry heard the unmistakable sound of a harp playing within the room.

The Cerberus…Fluffy…was sound asleep. Next to the large dog was a self-playing harp that was producing a soothing melody. ' _Seems like Fluffy has a weakness after all.'_ He thought, edging towards the large beast. ' _Strange…never read about a Cerberus being weak to music…wonder how this two-faced man knew.'_

The dog's large paw was covering a hatch on the floor, which seemed to be the only other exit besides the one he'd entered from. ' _Well…guess the only way is forward.'_

Using the Force, he gently pushed the paw aside and lifted the trap door. Beneath was nothing but a dark tunnel leading downwards. ' _Guess I have no choice.'_ Harry thought before jumping down into the darkness.

Landing on something soft, Harry felt around in the darkness trying to figure out just what he'd fallen onto. It was...almost plant like. Something wrapped around his wrist painfully. Soon dozens of other robe like substances were wrapping themselves around his arms, torso and anything else it could.

"Shite." Harry cursed struggling against his bindings, which only made them tighten around him.

' _Calm down!'_ He shouted to himself. ' _Think…this feels like a plant…a snare? Wait…what was that plant? Demon snare? No…Devils Snare! Right…light…I need light!'_

True to what he knew of the plant, the less he moved about the more relaxed the grip on him became. Soon it was enough for him to move his right hand. With a flick of his wrist his lightsaber was in his hand and activated.

The plant screamed as the dark purple light brightened the room. The vines that'd been holding him in place retreated swiftly, as well as the section of plant that was holding him up.

"Ouch." Harry moaned, rubbing his backside as he looked up at the ceiling, which was completely covered in the vicious plant. "Professor Sprout sure does have some interesting plants in her collection…not looking forward to dealing with this monster in class."

Underneath the plant the tunnel continued in a single direction. Following the path down he could vaguely hear what sounded like fluttering wings just before he entered a brightly lit room with a high vaulted ceiling. ' _Birds? No…they're metallic…keys? Flying keys? And I assume that one of them opens the door on the far end there.'_

Marching across the room, he took a good look at the old fashioned handle. ' _Silver…old…large opening for a key. And several decorative marks. Okay. Looking for an older style large silver key…let's see. There!'_

High above him, flying with a broken wing, was a sliver key that had similar markings to the door. ' _Now…how to get it. Let's see there's a broom right next to the door…talk about obvious. Let's just see if I can grab it instead.'_

Lifting his hand, he grabbed hold of the key with the Force and pulled it towards him. And instantly had to let go and duck as every key in the room turned and attempted to spear him. ' _Okay! Not doing that again.'_ Harry cursed as he watched the keys start fluttering harmlessly once more once he'd let go of the old key. ' _Fine then…don't want to give me the key. Then I'll use my own!'_

Turning towards the door he drew his lightsaber and within the blink of an eye had cut through the lock and both sets of hinges. To his surprise, none of the key's made any move towards him, even when the door fell to the ground. ' _Must've been triggered to either the broom stick or the old key itself.'_ Harry mused stepping through the opening and into another darkened chamber.

' _Let's see…the Cerberus must've been Hagrid. Devil's Snare, Sprout. And the keys must've been Flitwick. So that leaves Snape, Quirrell, and McGonagall. I wonder whose next.'_

He didn't have to wait for long to get his answer as the room lit up with dozens of torches. The entire room was dominated by a larger than life sized chess board. The side nearest to him was set up with black pieces while the side across the board was set with the white. And just beyond the white pieces was the next door. Deciding to press his luck, he marched across the board towards the door. Just as he reached the line of white pawns, all eight of them drew double stone swords and crossed them with each other effectively blocking his path. But despite their actions…none of them made a move towards him other than to block his path.

When he took a step back towards the black pieces, all of the pawns sheathed their swords and returned to their original stance. ' _So they want me to play my way across…hell of a time for me to decide not to bring Ron with me.'_ While he might not have always agreed or even gotten along with his dorm mate…there was one undeniable fact. And that was that Ron was a master at chess. ' _Well…time to improvise I guess. I just hope I haven't gotten too rusty.'_

Snapping his lightsaber into his hand, Harry charged at the pawns. Just before he reached them they all drew their swords again and tried to block his path. Twisting under the stone blades, Harry cut down the nearest two pawns with Ataru before transitioning to Makashi to deflect a spear thrust from a bishop.

A slight tingling from the Force was the only warning he had to dodge as the queen's sword passed through the air where his head had been just moments before. Using the Force he jumped back beyond the line of pawns. This time though, the pawns didn't simply sheathed their swords. No. This time the pawns actually started to press towards him. And the two pawns that he'd destroyed just moments earlier had already retreated off to the side of the board, and once there they reassembled before quickly retaking their place in line.

' _Shit.'_ Harry cursed, using Makashi to deflect a pawn before cutting its arm off and pushing it away with the Force. ' _Maybe I should've just played and…wait…why aren't the edge pieces attacking?'_

The only pawns that were attacking him where the ones directly diagonally from him. And even though he'd been pushed back several places on the board…the bishops hadn't passed beyond the line of pawns. Although one knight had, which had prompted Harry to switch back to Ataru in order to dodge its attack and remove its head.

' _Even though I'm not playing…the rest of the pieces are still bound to the rules of the game.'_ Harry realized as he watched one of the bishops move on a diagonal towards him. ' _And if they're still playing by the rules…that means the game is over once the king is dead.'_

Jumping over the line of pawns, Harry made a beeline for the king. A slight nudge from the Force had him ducking once again under the blade of the queen. Using the queen as a platform, Harry launched himself through the air towards the king. The king reacted by hefting its sword and swinging it at him while he was still airborne. Twisting in midair, Harry reversed his grip and switch to Djem So as he passed by the king's head.

The king's head hitting the board echoed throughout the room as every piece froze mid-move. The doors that'd once been closed were now opening. De-activing his lightsaber, Harry bolted for the open door not wanting to wait around and see if the king would leave the board to put itself back together.

What greeted him in the next room made him skid to a stop and draw his lightsaber and wand once again. It was a troll…lying face down on the ground…with the back half of its head missing.

' _Well…that confirms it. I'm not alone down here.'_

Scanning the room carefully, Harry knelt down beside the dead troll. ' _More than likely a blasting curse directly into the mouth.'_ Harry observed kneeling over the troll for a moment. ' _Well…no point in hanging around here if the obstacle is already dead.'_

The moment that Harry stepped into the next room a wall of black fire completely encased the door the he'd just entered from and the door on the other side of the room. He could practically feel the malicious intent of the fire when he inched close to it. ' _Okay…I can't go forward and I can't go back…hmmm…a table of potions in the center of the room. Wonder what they could be for?'_ Harry thought sarcastically as he took stock of the differing bottles arranged on the table while retracting his lightsaber back into the holster on his wrist.

At the far end of the table was a single note. _'Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind. Two of us will help you, whichever you would find. One among us seven will let you move ahead, another will transport the drinker back instead. Two among our number hold only nettle wine. Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore. To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: First, however slyly the poison tries to hid you will always find some on nettle wine's left side. Second, different are those who stand at either end, but if you would move onwards, neither is your friend. Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, neither dwarf not giant holds death in their insides. Fourth, the second left and the second on the right are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.'*_

' _A logic puzzle.'_ Harry mused. ' _Tricky…but not tricky enough.'_

Picking up the smallest bottle in the row, Harry undid the cork and took a small drink. He could feel the potion rushing through his veins in a not so comfortable manner for a moment before it faded. ' _Time to go.'_ He thought moving towards the black fire. And without giving himself a moment to doubt, he stepped through the flames completely unscathed.

Beyond the flames he was met with a staircase that led downwards. As he slowly descended he could hear the mumbling of a single voice ahead. Towards the bottom of the stairs, the corridor widened into a large circular room. In the center of the room was the Mirror of Erised…and before it was a single figure. "Professor Quirrell."

The turban wearing Professor stopped his examination of the mirror and turned towards him. The normal unsure expression that he always wore was gone. Replaced with a mask of indifference. "Harry Potter…you don't seemed surprised to see me."

"You hid yourself well. I almost bought your little stuttering pathetic teacher act as well. But there is a darkness about you that you could never quite fully hide." Harry said stepping down off of the stairs. "So in the end, I figured it would either be your Snape down here trying to get the stone for your Master."

Surprise and fear rippled through Quirrell so thickly that Harry could almost taste it. "What do you know of my Master boy?!"

Smirking, Harry began to pace back and forth at the base of the stairs. "I know that he was defeated by those he considered to be beneath him. Pretty pathetic to be defeated by an unarmed woman and her infant son."

"How dare you-"

"Enough…Quirrell…let me speak…to the boy."

Harry froze upon hearing the disembodied voice. Instantly he stretched out his senses trying to locate whoever was in the room with them. But all he could sense was…Quirrell.

"Master." Quirrell breathed turning away from Harry slightly. "You are not strong enou-"

"I am strong…enough for this…let me speak...now."

Reaching up, Quirrell began to quickly unwind the turban around his head. Harry's heart lurched and his breath caught as Quirell removed the cloth off of his head…reveling a second face. ' _The two-faced man.'_

"Harry Potter…we meet again at…long last."

With a flick of his left hand, Harry drew his wand and aimed it towards Quirell…Voldemort. "Voldemort."

The face on the back of Quirrell's head laughed. "You are brave…young Harry…to say my name. Just like…your parents."

"The parent's you took from me." Harry said. "The parent's you murdered."

"They were…foolish Harry." Voldemort gasped. "I offered them…life…multiple times. A place of…honor amongst our…kind. They refused. But hope…is not lost. Together…we can bring them back. All you have…to do…is help me to…retrieve the stone!"

For the just the briefest of moments, Harry looked up and stared directly at the surface of the mirror. He could almost see the images of his mom and dad staring back at him. "I've been waiting ten years for this." He said lowering his wand slightly. "I'm glad my mother isn't here for this. She'd probably wash my mouth out. Voldemort…fuck you."

The face of Voldemort sneered. "On your head boy! Quirrell…kill him!"

With almost blinding speed, Quirrell pushed off the ground and flew towards Harry from halfway across the room. But as fast as he was, Harry was faster. Much faster.

Utilizing Djem So, Harry ducked and spun low. When he came up his lightsaber was in his right hand and cleaved clean through Quirrell's outstretched left arm. " _Incendio!"_

Clutching at the stump that was once his left arm, the professor leapt back and just barely managed to avoid the flame from Harry's wand. "What magic is that Master?" Quirrell cried staring at Harry's lightsaber.

"Ignore it…you fool! Kill him…now!"

Settling into Makashi, Harry held his lightsaber before him and his wand out to his side. "Try your best."

This time instead of charging him, Quirrell drew his wand and snapped off two spells in quick succession. Harry deflected both spells back at the professor before adding one his own.

Pivoting, Quirrell's body blurred as he moved across the chamber before stopping next to the mirror. Sneering, the professor sent multiple spells in Harry's direction, each of which Harry managed to deflect back at the professor forcing him to keep moving.

After having to dodge once again, the professor disappeared in a cloud of black smoke which moved rapidly across the chamber and onto the stairs behind him. "Not smart." Harry smirk, thrusting his lightsaber into the center of the smoke cloud.

The smoke dissipated, and what was left was a gaping Quirrell who was staring down in shock at the lightsaber piercing his chest. "For my parents you son of a bitch." Harry cursed, pushing the lightsaber in further.

Quirrell's eyes blinked, then turned a deep red. The one good arm he had left grabbed Harry by the throat and pulled him in close. "Foolish boy." Quirrell's mouth was moving, but it was not Quirrell's voice. "This body is disposable…but I have studied magic far beyond your wildest dreams. And prophecy be damned I will see you…wait…what?! What's happening?""

Wrenching himself away from Quirrell, Harry coughed as he tried to breath. When he looked up at Quirrell he froze. Quirrell was…disintegrating. Starting at the hand that'd grabbed his throat, his body was turning to dust. "No!" The voice of Voldemort shouted. "You damn…mudblood! I will not…not again! Not to…to the likes of you!"

Having no idea just what was going on, Harry back peddled away from the rapidly disintegrating body. Soon every inch of skin was covered in ash. The being that was one Quirrell reached out for him one last time, and fell to the floor in a pile of ash.

For several long moments Harry just stood there, staring at the clothes and ash that'd once been his professor. ' _What just happened?'_ He asked himself looking at his hands. ' _He just…disintegrated upon touching me…but how?'_

He was so distracted by what'd just happened, that the failed to see the wraith rise from the ashes. Feeling a jolt from the Force, Harry looked up just in time to see the wraith speed towards him and pass through his chest.

Harry screamed in agony as pain far worse than anything he'd ever felt before surged through him. And then there was nothing but darkness and a rapidly approaching floor.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Alright! Here we go again. Now the last chapter didn't apparently go over nearly as well as I had hoped. So, let me just say this for the record.**

 **One: Harry is eleven years old! As mature as he is, think back to when you were elven. Almost all of us didn't even know our ass from a hole in the ground at age eleven.**

 **Two: Dumbledore, love him, hate him, don't care about him, is one of the most powerful and cunning wizards in the world.**

 **Three: This was the first time Harry had been away from Nox. Ever!**

 **Four: Refer to SWTOR and the SI storyline. The SI got their as kicked by wraiths/ghosts/spirits multiple times before learning the Force Walking Ritual. Even then the SI was still getting their as kicked by the absorbed ghosts.**

 **Five: I understand things went by fast, I wanted to get first year over with and things will slow down now.**

 **Okay, mild rant over.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has favorited/alerted/reviewed this story so far! Please keep it up! Like I said, I respect all reviews except flames. Basically if you don't have anything good or constructive to say…don't say it! Anyone who has gotten a flame will tell you…they are a serious damper on the whole writing process.**

 **Anyway, enough of that. Hope that you all enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter 9**

Sitting bolt upright in bed, Nox clutched at her chest as she tried to control her breathing. Harry…her apprentice…her son. Was in danger. Terrible danger.

Swinging her legs over the edge of her bed, she sprung to her feet while summoning her wand into her palm. A quick flick of her wrist and her robes were flying towards her. She barely even needed to break her stride as she walked and put on her robes. Throwing open the door to her room, she marched down the hall and slammed open the doors to the master bedroom so hard they rebounded off the walls.

Two very startled sets of eyes met her own. "Get dress, the both of you." Nox growled, flicking her wrist and send clothes flying towards the occupants of the bed. "Harry is in danger."

Turning out of the room, Nox marched down towards the main sitting room. "Kreacher!"

A slight pop later and the small creature was by her side. "Yes Mistress?" He asked, nearly running in an effort to stay even with her.

"Go and find the old fool." Nox hissed, reaching out and latching onto Harry's Force presence. "I don't care if he is asleep or taking a shit. Find him and bring him to his office. Now!"

"Yes Mistress." Kreacher bowed before snapping his fingers and disappearing.

Upon arriving in the sitting room, Nox was forced to pace back and forth as she waited for Sirius and his 'guest' to come down. "Alright Nox," Sirius sounded more than slightly winded and he was still working on getting his shirt on fully. "What's this about Harry being in danger?"

Nox though wasn't even paying attention to Sirius. Her attention was focused solely on Sirius's company. "Amelia, you have access to the Hogwarts floo through your position as Head of the DMLE, do you not?"

Amelia Bones, still in the process of straightening her clothes, nodded slowly. "Yes I can-"

"Good. Do it then." Nox demanded, stepping away from the fireplace.

To her credit, Amelia didn't question her. Stepping up to the fire place, Amelia grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire place. "Ministry DMLE Hogwarts, Amelia Bones."

The floo powder sparked once and then green flames rose up in the fireplace as the connection was made. Without waiting for either Sirius or Amelia, Nox stepped into the green flames. Floo travel was definitely not Nox's favorite method of travel…but she couldn't deny its usefulness as less than a second after stepping into the flames she was marching out into a large oval office.

Books and trinkets lined just about every shelf and wall in the large office. And the Force was so heavy that it nearly caused Nox to stumble. ' _Force…it's as if every stone in this building was crafted by the Force itself.'_

"That's strange." Amelia said coming out of the floo behind her with Sirius coming out a moment later. "This is Dumbledore's office…but why isn't he here? He left the Ministry after the recess was called which delayed the vote for a week."

Nox didn't care to ponder where the Headmaster was. All she cared about was that her apprentice, her son, was in danger. Walking towards the only door in the room, she threw it open with enough force to rebound it off the wall before marching down the spiraling stone staircase. While she did, she extended her sense trying to locate Harry. She could just vaguely feel him in one of the higher towers…but his presence was waning. Coming to the base of the stairs, she set off at a fast past, her heels making a steady taping against the stone floor as she walked.

"Kreacher!"

The house elf appeared right next to her. "Yes Mistress?"

"Where is Dumbledore?" She asked, latching onto Harry's presence and marching towards it.

"He's be in the Castle Mistress." Kreacher said breathlessly after a moment. "Kreacher can go and ask him to wait if-"

"Do it."  
"Yes Mistress." He said before snapping his fingers and disappearing.

With Amelia and Sirius on her heels, Nox made her way through the grand castle using Harry's presence as a beacon. By the time the trio reached a large stair case, they were met with another three individuals who were being led by Kreacher. The one in the lead she recognized easily enough as Dumbledore. The man to his right actually made Nox blink in surprise. It was the same man that she'd knocked aside at the Potter's House a decade ago. And as the man that Sirius hated only slightly less than Peter Pettigrew. The third in the group however was an elderly woman whom she'd never met.

"Madam Nox?" Dumbledore stumbled. Apparently he was not expecting to ever see her in the school. "How – oh. Madam Bones. Lord Black. I assumed that you used the DMLE access on the floo in my office. Please tell me, what can I-"

"Cut the shit Dumbledore." Nox growled, snapping her wand into her hand. An action that made both Severus and the new woman to draw theirs as well. "I know that Harry is in danger…so where is he?"

The older woman's wand faltered. "Albus?"

"So it is the brat then." Severus scoffed. "I see the apple did not fall far from the tree. He's just as idiotic as his fath-"

"You don't want to finish that Severus." Sirius growled, drawing his own wand and leveling it at the man's head.

"Please, there is no need for such hostilities." Dumbledore pleaded, holding his hands up. "Madam Nox, I have just discovered that the wards in the third floor corridor have been tripped-"

"Would this be the corridor where you're hiding the Sorcerer's stone?" Nox asked drawing a shocked look from the three teachers. "Or at least the imitation you managed to create of it?"

"Hem…" Dumbledore coughed. "As I was saying Madam Nox. Our wards on…well on the stone have been tripped, and Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and myself were just about to check it out. If you want you can wait in my office-"

"No need." Nox growled lowering her wand and walking past the three professor's. "I will not wait while my son is in danger."

"Madam Nox!" Dumbledore pleaded as she climbed the stairs. She could feel Harry's presence becoming stronger with each step she took. "It's dangerous! The traps that we've place to protect the stone cannot simply be undone with a moment's notice. At best we may be able to get to him by morning but…Madam Nox!"

Nox had long since stopped paying attention to Dumbledore as she stepped off the stairs and into a narrow corridor. Feeling Harry's presence, she turned and marched towards an old wooden door. Making a show of it, Nox flicked her wand towards the door. The door, and the surrounding frame, disintegrated as she transfigured the wood and stone into sand.

Stepping into the opening, she was immediately met with a snarling three headed dog that must've weighed at least ton or more. Holding up her hand, she threw her mind at the animal. The Cerberus managed to take one last snap towards her before it whimpered and pressed itself up against the far wall in its attempt to get away from her.

Grabbing hold of the trap door she threw it open and pointed her wand down into the darkness. " _Incendeo Maximum."_

The ball of fire that left her wand was as large as the darkened tunnel she'd sent it into, and it kept expanding as it sunk further into the darkness. ' _First rule…never enter a darkened chamber blind.'_ She thought as the fire reached the bottom of the tunnel and dissipated.

"Nox! Hold up! What are we-"

Ignoring Sirius, Nox dropped down into the darkened tunnel. Using the Force, Nox augmented the muscles and bones in her legs so that when she hit the ground she didn't even need a moment pause before continuing onwards.

The next room was full of fluttering keys. Whatever their previous purposed served, it was useless as the door and been effectively opened by a lightsaber. ' _Well thought out Harry.'_ She mused as she continued on her way into the next room.

This room was filled with a giant chess set. "Wait Madam Nox!" Dumbledore shouted breathlessly from somewhere far behind her as Nox marched out into the center of the board. "You can't just cross! We have to-"

But once again, Nox completely ignored the old coot. Using her wand, she rose all sixteen white pieces into the air at once, before banishing them all off of the board with such force that they shattered upon impact with walls.

Not caring about the looks she was sure she was receiving, Nox continued on towards the now opening door that'd been beyond the white pieces. The only thing in the next room was troll that was missing the back half of its head. ' _Not Harry's work.'_ She thought, barely even sparing the dead creature a second glance. ' _More than likely whoever is trying to steal the stone for Voldemort._ '

The next room she entered had a long table with seven bottles of varying sizes littering its surface. The moment she'd stepped fully into the room, she felt a surge in the dark side of the Force as black flames covered the door leading onwards and the door leading back. ' _Impressive.'_ She thought walking up to the dark side flame. Pulling deeply on the dark side, Nox drew the black flames away from the door before sending them directly into the stone wall. ' _But not impressive enough.'_

Stepping into the last room, Nox felt her heart clench. There, lying at the bottom of the stairs with his wand and lightsaber lying next to his outstretched arms was her son. "Harry!"

Nox took the stairs three or four at a time as she rushed down towards her son. Reaching his side, she fell to her knees and cradled his head up into her lap. "Harry." She breathed feeling his pulse, and nearly fainting with relief when she felt it beating strong.

Hearing several pairs of feet rushing down the stairs, Nox quickly grabbed Harry's lightsaber and tucked it into the folds of her robes. They weren't ready for this secret to be out in the open just yet.

"Oh no…Nox?"

"He's alive Sirius." Nox said, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Is he injured?" Amelia asked, kneeling down next to her with McGonagall right beside her.

"Physically, no." Nox said looking over her son and finding no visible sign of injury. Reaching out with the Force, she felt his presence and nearly gasped. He'd been attacked…and in a manner that she was very familiar with. "He's was attacked by a wraith."

"A wraith?" McGonagall breathed looking around frantically. "That's impossible. The wards of Hogwarts only permits non-violent spirits-"

"Then it hitched a ride…more than likely on whoever that was." Nox said nodding towards the pile of ash and clothing. "More than likely attached to whoever that used to be. Lucky bastard."

"Lucky?" Dumbledore gasped. "Madam Nox…that was Professor Quirrell-"

"Your Defense against the Dark Art's professor?" Amelia nearly screeched. "You had a professor on staff that was possessed by a wraith and you didn't know about it?"

Dumbledore didn't respond, at least not right away. And that was all that Nox needed. ' _So he knew…bastard…'_ "He's lucky Dumbledore…because he died before I could get to him." She was still tempted to use her Force Walking Ritual to see if the bastard's spirit was still around…but there were far too many eyes present for her to do that.

Dumbledore's face fell and she could feel a small amount of sadness radiating off the man. "You would condemn him so? He deserved a second chance."

"Not all seek redemption, nor do some deserve it Headmaster." Nox growled. This man reminded her far too much of the pious Jedi. "And usually those who are offered it rarely make good with it."

Cradling her son in her arms, she effortlessly picked him up. "Now…are you going to show me where I can treat my son's injuries…or are you going to stand in my way again?"

* * *

Rolling over onto his side, Harry pulled the sheet that was around him higher up his body. ' _Wait…sheet? Bed? I was in…oh no!'_

Bolting up right Harry looked around frantically expecting to find himself in the chamber with Quirrell and Voldemort, but instead found himself in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. ' _The hospital wing? How did I get here?'_

"Good morning Harry."

Harry completely froze. ' _Oh no…please…no.'_ It wasn't that he didn't want to see her…it was just that he was afraid of her learning about what had happened.

Turning his head to the side, his stomach dropped to his feet as he saw his mother sitting cross legged and eyes closed on the bed next to him. "G – Good morning mother."

Opening her eyes, his mother took her time in rising from the bed. "How are you feeling son?"

Gulping, Harry tried to meet his mother's eyes. "I'm…I'm alright."

"Are you now?" Harry had to fight to stay in place as his mother drew her wand. A quick flick of her wand later, and Harry could feel crude shield of sorts surround them. A silencing charm. "I must say that is impressive. Few ever escape from an encounter with a violent wraith. I myself nearly succumbed several times before I learned the Force Walking Ritual."

"Are you…are you mad at me mother?"

"Mad? Tell me dear son. Why should I be mad at you?" If Harry wasn't certain that he was in trouble before…he knew it now. His mother never used this tone of voice unless she was disappointed or mad. "Should I be mad that you charged head long into an unknown situation like a reckless Jedi without consulting me? Should I be mad at you for failing to take either of your fellow apprentices or your 'friends' along with you on this reckless task?"

"They would've been hurt!" Harry shouted back. "I – I saw it."

His mother's gaze didn't soften. "You had a vision…tell me of it."

So Harry told her, of what he originally saw and how the vision became clearer and clearer with each passing day. How he saw Hermione and Ron getting hurt before shifting to Daphne and Susan. "I…I just didn't want them to get hurt mother."

Rubbing her chin, his mother looked off to the side. "Tell me Harry…did you see any of them die in your visions?"

"Well…no."

"Your vision was altered Harry." His mother side. "Altered by your own mind."

"What?" Harry blinked. "What do you mean?"

Sitting down on the bed, his mother finally met his eyes. "Visions, as I've told you Harry, are a very tricky thing. In the beginning you only caught glimpses. Those were true Force visions. The cleared ones that proceeded them however…those were visions that'd been altered and clouded by your own fear."

"But…but I saw them get hurt…"

"And because of that, you didn't take your fellow apprentices or your 'friends' with you." His mother sighed, shaking her head. "I'm not quite sure what I should be more angered with Harry. The fact that you allowed your fear of others getting hurt cloud your judgement. Or the fact that you obviously don't trust your 'friends' or apprentices enough to take care of themselves."

Lowering his head in shame, Harry didn't bother responding. There was nothing that he could say. She was right. About everything. He allowed his emotions to get the better of him…and he didn't trust Daphne, Susan, Hermione…or even Ron enough to trust that they could take care of themselves.

"And then there is the fact that you've allowed yourself to fall under the influence of a compulsion charm. Albeit a powerful one and well-hidden one."

"What?" Harry shouted, his head snapping up and his depression vanishing. "I – no. There is no way! I've been very careful."

His mother just shrugged off his defense. "I'm sure you have Harry. But the fact remains that you were under a compulsion charm. As I said, it was well-hidden. In fact, if I hadn't been the one to heal you I probably wouldn't have even discovered it. Such a compulsion charm would either have to be cast directly…or placed on something that you direct contact with frequently."

Harry racked his brain trying to think of a time when he might've been hit with the compulsion, or of anything he might've received that he used freque – "The cloak." Harry breathed. "The compulsion was on my father's cloak."

"That was my thought as well Harry." His mother nodded. "Unfortunately, you did not have the cloak on you nor did I find it after retrieving you from that place. I assume Dumbledore picked it up and is currently in the process of removing whatever enchantments he'd placed on it. But all the same, did you not check the cloak over before using it?"

Harry opened his mouth to say that he had, but the words died on his lips. He hadn't. After he'd opened it…he simply put it on. "No mother, I didn't."

Sighing, his mother rubbed at her forehead. "I guess in some way, I am responsible for most of your mistakes this year."

"Mother?"

"I've been training you as how a mother teachers her son. Not as how a Master teachers her Apprentice." His mother said, her voice hardening. "Do not think that you are blameless Harry. In the end your actions, or rather inactions, were your own. But I…my weakness prevented me from training you as I should have. I didn't prepare you well enough for what was to come. And that is something that will change my son. I love you my son…and I always will. But it is past time for me to train you properly."

Rising from his bed, Harry felt the shield that'd been surrounding them disappear. "Your wand _holster's_ are in your trunk. Be sure not to leave you _wand_ laying out so recklessly. Be sure to rest well and enjoy your last week here Harry. For you are in for a very long summer." And with that his mother turned her back on him and marched out of the hospital wing.

Laying his head back on his pillow, Harry fought to keep himself from crying. In less than a few minutes his mother had pointed out everything he'd done wrong, each of which could've and should've been prevented. Worse than that…he'd failed his mother. He'd failed his fellow apprentices. He'd failed his friends. And he failed himself.

"Hello Harry."

Rolling his head to the side he nearly groaned. Why? Why did _he_ have to show up now of all times. "Hello Headmaster."

Walking up to his bedside, Dumbledore took out his wand and conjured a handkerchief from nothing before handing it over to him. Mindful of the conversation he'd just endured, Harry took a brief moment to scan over the offered handkerchief. After finding nothing nefarious about it, he took it and blew his nose. "Not the most pleasant of conversations I take it?"

"No." Harry answered handing the cloth back to Dumbledore. "No…it wasn't."

Shaking his head, Dumbledore sat down on the small space available next to Harry on his bed. "She shouldn't have been so hard on you Harry. You've done a great thing today. In fact, I know for certain that your parents would've been so proud of you today."

Harry couldn't help the brief swell of pride that bloomed within his chest, but he quickly pushed it down. "Thank you Headmaster."

"You're quite welcome Harry. In fact, I should be the one thanking you for protecting the stone while I was gone."

For a moment Harry wanted to question as to whether or not the stone was even in the castle, but he stopped himself. No need for reveling that suspicion. Instead he decided to take the conversation in another direction. "Headmaster…the wraith that was within Professor Quirrell…that was Voldemort wasn't it?"

"Ah, he spoke to you, didn't he Harry?"

"Yes he did Headmaster. How is he even still alive sir? Do you know? Please sir…tell me" Harry pressed in his best 'innocent' voice.

Sighing, Dumbledore turned his head away from Harry. "As you've no doubt seen Harry, magic is a wonderful thing. Wonderful, and frightening. Are there ways to cheat death through magic, yes there are. But even the vary wisest do not know them all. But one thing that is known…is that each and every manner of cheating death comes at great cost and with great evil."

"So…Voldemort is still alive then." Harry pressed. "Then why haven't you told anyone else sir? Surely the people need to know that-"

"I'm afraid my dear boy, that it isn't that simple. You see, many of his followers escaped justice at the end of the war. In truth, we don't even know who was on his side and who wasn't. If we told everyone…his followers would seek him out and help him. But as it stands, he is on his own. And that is for the best."

Leaning close to him, Dumbledore patted him on his shoulder. "But do not fret young Harry. I will not allow him to come near you again. I promised your parents that I would protect you if they could no longer do so. And I mean to stand by my promise."

' _Fat chance.'_ Harry thought giving the Headmaster a false smile. ' _He already got to me once under your watch. Mostly because of my own fault. But in the end the bastard still died under – '_ "Headmaster…when I touched Quirrell he…well he turned to sand. Why?"

"Ah, that Harry is because you are protected by a very old and very powerful type of magic. Do you know what it is?" When Harry shook his head, Dumbledore continued. "Love Harry. The love your mother had for you in her last moments when she sacrificed herself for you, her actions created a barrier within you that makes it impossible for Voldemort to touch you."

"Now," Dumbledore said standing. "I believe this belongs to you."

From within his sleeve, Dumbledore pulled out a long silvery cloth. His invisibility cloak. "Do try to keep it well hidden Harry. There is more than one professor here that wouldn't like seeing you with this."

"Thank you Headmaster." Harry said holding onto the cloak. This time, he would heed his mother's advice however and he wouldn't use it until both he and his mother had the chance to look it over. Twice.

"Quite alright Harry." Dumbledore smiled going to the end of his bed and picking up one of the many boxes of candy. "Ah, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans. I was rather unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit flavored one. And since I'm afraid I've lost my taste for them. But…I think that I might be safe with a nice…caramel. Ah…alas…earwax."

Harry couldn't help himself and smiled slightly at the Headmaster's antics. If nothing else…Harry had to hand it to the man. He was good.

* * *

Sitting in the Great Hall with the rest of his house, Harry stared down mutely at the few remnants of food left on his plate. It'd two days since he'd been discharged from the hospital wing, much to the joy of his friends and house mates, and he still didn't have much of an appetite. The only reason he was even in the Great Hall at the moment was because it was the last feast of the year before the students were to board the train back to London. "Are you feeling alright Harry?"

"Yeah." Harry answered, sparing Hermione a brief glance up from his food. "Just not very hungry."

"You haven't been hungry for days." Ron said around a mouthful of food. "It's not…healthy Harry."

"Just not hungry Ron. It happens on occasion." Harry answered a little more sharply than he intended.

"Are you feeling any better? Sure is strange that you of all people would fall down a flight of stairs. But I suppose that _accidents_ do happen around here."

Harry had to suppress wincing at Hermione's tone. The story that's been spread by the Professors was that he'd been out early in the morning and spotted someone heading for the third floor and then fell down a flight of stairs running them off. His fellow housemates all bought the story and congratulated him. All except for Hermione that is.

"Yeah…I'm fine Hermione." Harry said, trying to convey to her that he didn't want to talk about it.

"Yeah, leave him alone Hermione." Ron said, finally putting down his knife and fork. "And besides we have bigger problems. Like the fact that Slytherin won the house cup. Again."

Looking up, Harry ran his eyes along the long green and silver banners that were hung up all around the Great Hall. Slytherin had indeed won the house cup, not that Harry really cared at all. It was just a silly competition.

But looking at all of the green and sliver brought him to the Slytherin house table. Specifically the blond haired girl that was going to extreme lengths to avoid his gaze. Looking over towards the Hufflepuff table, he spotted a redhead who was also doing everything in her power to avoid him. ' _Mother must've told them about everything._ ' Harry groaned. He was starting to really dread training this summer.

"May I have your attention please?" Dumbledore's voice echoed throughout the hall, putting a halt to all eating. "Another year is behind us. And it is time to award the coveted House Cup. But before we do…I have some last minute points to add. To Ms. Hermione Granger, Mr. Harry Potter, Ms. Susan Bones, and Ms. Daphne Greengrass. For setting records amongst first year test scores, I award each of you fifteen points."

The students of the hall all clapped, and Harry felt more than one clap on his back as his house mates congratulated him. Hermione turned absolutely beat red and tried to hide her face underneath her bushy hair. Dumbledore continued on after the clapping died down handing out points for high test scores or perfect attendance. None of which Harry cared to listen too. He just wanted to get out here.

"-and lastly. To Mr. Harry Potter. For special services to the school and for courage rivaling that of Godric Gryffindor himself…I hereby award twenty-five points." Again the entire house started congratulating Harry. But instead of celebrating with his house, Harry narrowed his eyes in concentration. ' _With those points…'_ "Now then. The total scores for the year are: Hufflepuff at 375 points, Ravenclaw at 426 points, Gryffindor at 432 points, and Slythering at…430 points! Which means that if my math is correct, a change in decoration is in order." With a clap of his hands, all of the banners in the hall changed from Slytherin silver and green to Gryffindor red and gold. "Gryffindor wins the house cup!"

The entire Gryffindor table burst up in celebration. Standing with his house, Harry celebrated as well, but his heart wasn't in it. ' _Clever old man.'_

* * *

Standing on the balcony in his office, Dumbledore watched as the train slowly disappeared from sight. ' _Another year down.'_ He thought turning back into his office. ' _And things have not gone completely as I'd hoped.'_

That was an understatement actually. The only one of his plans that truly worked out was Harry confronting Voldemort. But even that left more questions than answers. Questions that he needed a second opinion on. "Headmaster, you wanted to speak with me?"

Turning his head, Dumbledore spotted Severus standing just within the entrance to his office. "Yes Severus." He said walking back to his desk. "I have something to show you. Something that I need your opinion on."

"Then let's see it then."

Moving back over to his desk, Dumbeldore grabbed hold of the cloth that was in the center and removed it. Underneath was Quirrell's severed arm. "Tell me what you think Severus." He said turning back so he could watch the express in the distance.

"It's Quirrell's arm…severed with an extremely powerful severing curse…the skin is scorched…Potter couldn't have done this Headmaster. Someone else must've been with him."

"I only wish that were true Severus." Dumbledore sighed. "Tell me…do you remember the troll that we examined? Remember the cuts next to its eye and behind its ankles? The wounds are almost identical to this."

Severus pursed his lips as he stared down at the arm. "No. Potter was questioned and-"

"And he could've lied Severus." Dumbledore said with a note of finality. "You admitted that Ms. Granger was in the girl's bathroom just before the feast having a fit. Harry disappeared after the students left the hall, only to reappear with Ms. Granger in tow. At the time we bought his story because none of us thought that a first year could fight, let alone kill, a fully grown mountain troll. But now Severus…now I am not so sure."

Grabbing the cloth, Severus pulled it back over the severed limb. "Nox?"

"I believe so Severus." Dumbledore nodded. "I knew that she was teaching the boy magic…I just didn't realize what type. And sadly I still don't. In all my studies…I have never read about a cutting curse or severing charm that could produce wounds like this. And then there were also the marks on the door within Flitwick's room. Again, the same unidentified curse."

"Why not simply ask the boy when he returns Headmaster?" Severus asked. "Whatever that item is that you gave him…the compulsion charms on it should make the boy more than agreeable to any request you make of him next semester."

At this, Dumbledore sighed. He hated the fact that he had had to sink to the level of enchanting the Potter Family Heirloom with compulsion charms. But he needed to know what this Nox woman had been filling Harry's head with. But after the opening feast, he knew simple compulsion charms wouldn't be enough. Not against someone with mental defenses on Harry's level. So he had gone one step further. He'd collected a few hairs from the boy and tailor made a new compulsion charm that would only effect Harry whenever he was in close proximity to the cloak.

Unfortunately, after Nox's little display of cutting through the 'stone's' protections as if they weren't even there…he knew that it was too much of a risk to leave them alone. So before Nox could get a good look at the cloak, he'd dispelled it of all the charms he'd placed on it. Which meant the compulsion charm that had led Harry to the mirror and would eventually lead the boy to completely trust Dumbledore was no more.

Shaking his head, he walked back behind his desk and sat down in his plush chair. "I had to remove the compulsions Severus. Nox has proven herself to be very magically adept. I could not risk her discovering them and using their very existence against us."

"So the boy is beyond your reach." Severus summed up simply. "And what of your spy? Could she simply not feed the boy some potions to make him more agreeable?"

"Only at great personal risk Severus." Dumbledore said dismissively. Although he would be lying if he said he hadn't had similar thoughts. In fact, he had actually approached young Tonks about her doing just that. But she was adamant that such a thing was beyond her ability. "No…there will be other chances for us to get a hold of the boy and properly guide him to his destiny. Unfortunately, we're just going to have to wait until the next term to do anything. Besides…I believe I have already created the wedge between Harry and Nox."

"How?"

Picking up a lemon drop, he threw it in his mouth and savored the sour taste before continuing. "When young Harry awoke in the hospital wing, Nox was the first person he saw. And she berated him something fierce. After she left though, I came in behind him and congratulated him on his actions, told him how much he reminded me of his parents in that one moment. I also gave him back his father's cloak."

"And you award him enough points for 'special services' to the school so that Gryffindor would win the House Cup." Severus said shaking his head. "Hoping to enter the boy's good graces but depriving my house what was rightfully theirs."

"Set aside your frustration Severus." Dumbledore sighed. "You can live without the House Cup for one year. And by giving him enough points to win, we've endeared him to his house mates and to this school."

"Or so you hope." Severus answered quickly. "I don't think that two small actions like that are enough to separate the two of them."

"I never said they were Severus. I merely said that my actions created the wedge. Now all that we need to do is drive that wedge between the two of them."

* * *

Standing in her room within Grimmuald Place, Nox stared at her reflection in the floor length mirror. Today was Harry's and girls' second day home. And the first day that she would truly begin training them as a Master instead of as a mother and a friend. In truth…she was…uneasy about it. No. Uneasy was too simple of a word to accurately describe just what she was feeling at the moment. "Nox…you wanted to see me?"

Turning away from the mirror, Nox glared across the room at the young woman who'd just entered her room. "Yes Nymphadora. Close the door."

Nymphadora visibly winced at Nox's full use of her name. The two had become more than slightly informal before her return to Hogwarts. So the use of her full name left no room for misinterpretation about what kind of discussion this would be. "Yes ma'am." Tonks swallowed turning and closing the door.

"Tell me, Nymphadora," she started walking towards the young woman. "What were the two tasks that I assigned to you before you left for Hogwarts?"

Again Nymphadora swallowed. "Um…you ordered me to become a double agent for Dumbledore."

"Yes I did." Nox agreed, walking up and tracing a finger down her jaw line. "And you did a fantastic job in that regard. And I trust that you have no second thoughts about siding with us."

"Never!" Tonks said quickly and Nox could feel her mental barriers lower. "Please…please see that I speak the truth."

"There is no need Nymphadora." Nox said waving her off. "Return your barriers. I trust you with this task and to stay loyal to me. To us. And to what we are trying to accomplish."

Tonks flushed slightly. "Thank you ma'am."

"And while we are on the subject…did the old coot assign you any tasks?"

"He wanted me to try and slip Harry a mild compulsion potion over the summer." Nymphadora answered without hesitation. "Apparently he had some sort of steady regiment already in place before your arrival. I couldn't figure out just what it was though. But whatever it was, he abandon what he was doing to Harry after your display of power ma'am."

She figured that Dumbledore would try something to either turn Harry against her or at the least away from her. To actually go as far to try and compel him again…even the Jedi hardly ever sunk to that level. She would have to incorporate how to identify compulsions in both potion and spell form during her apprentice's summer training.

"Well done Nymphadora. I trust that you told him such a task was impossible?"

"Of course Nox – ma'am." Nympadora answered. "Even if it were possible…I would not do it."

"Good…now tell me. What was the second task that I assigned to you?"

At this Tonks paled considerably. "Um…you tasked me with protecting Harry. Even from himself."

"Yes I did." Nox said circling Tonks. "Now, I will acknowledge that my son made some rather idiotic choices this year. And mostly that is my fault for not training him correctly. Something that I will be rectifying that this summer. But none the less, where did I end up finding him Nymphadora?"

"In…in the chamber on the third floor. Unconscious."

"Yes." Nox breathed keeping her right hand on Nymphadora lower back and leaning in close to her ear. "Yes I did. Unconscious and suffering the after effects of an encounter with a vengeful wraith. Which means…you failed me."

She could feel Nymphadors stiffen beneath her hand, but to her credit the young woman didn't move. "Yes…I failed you." Turning around, Nymphdora faced her before dropping to her knees. "I do not deserve your forgiveness my Lady. You tasked me with protecting Harry…and I failed. Please…let me earn your forgiveness."

This caught Nox off guard for a moment, not that she let it show of course. She expected the young woman to beg for forgiveness or to somehow try to wiggle out of her punishment. But instead…she seemed to be accepting of what was about to happen. "You're not begging for my forgiveness?"

"No, my Lady." Nymphadora said keeping her eyes firmly at Nox's feet. "Despite my mother raising me outside of a 'dark' family…some of the tendencies still came through. And since Sirius named me as the Black family heir…I began to do some research on…well darker topics and histories I guess. And one thing about the dark…there is no acceptance for failure. You gave me a task. And I failed you. There is no forgiveness."

"A fine answer Nymphadora. Perhaps the best answer I have ever heard." Nox admitted, causing the young woman to look up in surprise. "But it will not spare you."

"I didn't expect it to ma'am."

Twenty minutes later Nox walked out of her room, leaving a still withering and silently screaming Nymphadora on the floor. This form of punishment was rather…unique. Unlike the Cruciatus Curse, which activated all of the body's pain receptors. This spell alternated between activating the pain and pleasure receptors in the brain. When used in conjunction with a stasis spell…the spell would continue alternating at a low enough level to avoid brain damage but still manage to get the point across. "It will wear off in an hour Nymphadora." Nox said, casting a body binding curse on the young woman so she couldn't leave. "You will not fail me again."

* * *

Down in the training room, her three apprentices stood in a line awaiting for her arrival. The moment she stepped into the door all three of them bowed to her and said in unison, "Good morning Master."

Nox didn't answer. Instead she crossed the distance between them and started pacing in front of them. All the while keeping the two packages she was holding carefully concealed behind her back. "This past year has highlighted that I have done all of you a great disservice." She started drawing sharp looks from both girls. "I have trained you all as a friend or a mother. Not as your Master. That changes today. Firstly, this room has been warded by myself, Amelia, Cyrus, Evelyn, Sirius, and Remus. The three of you will be able to practice your magic in here without fear of the Ministry finding out about it."

She could feel the excitement rolling off the three of them as she said that. "Secondly, your parents have agreed to never enter this place while we are training." That caused a spike of fear from both girls. "Lastly. Susan. Daphne. These are for you."

Bringing her hands out from behind her back, she presented each girl with a long narrow box. "Master…"Susan stuttered. "Are these…"

"Yes. These are your lightsabers." She said handing the longer box off to Susan before handing the shorter one to Daphne. "However you must figure out how to open them on your own. No help from your parents or from Harry. And should you fail to open them before it is time for you to head back to Hogwarts…then I will take them back until I feel you are ready once more. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master."

"Good, then let us proceed with today's lesson. Harry, blindfold."

"Yes mo – Master." Harry said, pulling out a blindfold from his robes and tying it around his eyes. When his eyes were covered, Nox flicked her wand and created a circle on the ground around Harry roughly ten feet in diameter. "Girls, you will fire stinging hexes at Harry while he tries to dodge. Harry, you are not allowed to use the Force or your lightsaber during this exercise. Am I understood?"

"Yes Master."

"Good. Now begin."

Moving to either side of the circle, both girls drew their wands and hesitated only a moment before each fired a stinging hex at Harry. Both of which he managed to lazily dodge. "Stop!"

Both Daphne and Susan stopped and pointed their wands up towards the ceiling. "Daphne, Susan…are you both weak?"

"No Master." Both girls answer after glancing at each other.

"Well Harry thought that you both were." She said stepping up to the edge of the ring. "What other reason would he have had to leave you both behind while he went alone and confronted Voldemort. He thinks that you're both weak. And from what you two are showing me right now…he isn't far off the mark. Perhaps I made a mistake in taking you two in as my apprentices. Now. Start again."

This time the girls took to the task. Each firing off stinging hexes that were powerful enough to leave welts. Which was proven when Harry failed to dodge one from Daphne and ended up with a large red mark on his arm. "Keep going!" Harry growled, settling himself into another stance.

Both girls didn't even hesitate before they continued to cast. Soon the inevitable happened and Harry's foot landed outside of the circle she'd drawn. Blue lightning streaked forth from her hand, striking Harry full in the chest and making him cry out in pain. "I warned you." She said, much to the surprise of the two girls. "I was going easy on the three of your before. And that nearly cost Harry his life. I won't make that mistake again. If any of you are not strong enough to see this through…then the door is right there."

Of the three, Harry as the first to move. Her son got to his feet, made his way to the center of the circle, and readied himself again. "Keep going."

Daphne took up her place once again with Susan only a moment behind her. Their choice was made.

An hour later a thoroughly bruised and battered Harry lay in the center circle while two equally exhausted girls were gasping for breath just beyond its perimeter. "Enough for now." She said cutting them all off. "We will be working hard this summer. You _will_ gain more endurance. Both physically, through the Force, and with you magic. This exercise should've continued for at least another hour minimum. Each of you will be taking turns in the center from here on out. Oh yes, and there is one more thing. You three will not be allowed to leave this room until you are all healed completely. If that means that you have to forgo food, water, or sleep then so be it. But should any of you have even one bruise when we are done, the lot of you won't be able to leave. Now see to Harry. Once he is healed you may all come out and have a slight lunch before we begin again."

Turning her back on them, Nox made her way out of the training room. She just barely managed to get beyond the door before she feel back against the wall. Raising her hand, she slowly unclenched her fist. Four equal cuts, deep enough to draw blood, adorned both of her palms. ' _I can't let my weakness stop me.'_ She breathed closing her eyes. ' _Harry almost died because I didn't train him well enough for what is to come. I can't – no. I won't let it happen again. No matter how much it hurts. I will be his mother outside of this room. But within…I have to be his Master.'_

* * *

Huddling down within the small cave, Harry pulled his robe tighter around himself in an effort to keep somewhat dry while the rain continued to pelt him through the small cave opening. His mother hadn't been lying when she said that she would be stepping up their training this summer. He'd been a fool to think that after the first day things would get easier. Sure the first day had been more than slightly painful, and he admitted that it was deserved, but pain did not necessarily mean difficult.

Every day his mother and Master came up with new tasks or training for her apprentices. Some days they were pitted against one another. Other days they had to work together in order to succeed. Some days they were to use their emotions to the max, while others they were punished for showing even the slightest bit of emotion. She had them run till they dropped and then forced them to run more. Then they would hold up as many Muntuur stones as they could with Force until they couldn't.

Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks, and one that none of them had been able to succeed at yet, was when she placed a single ball inside a cup and mixed it amongst ten others. She then cast a concealing charm over each cup and they had to try and find the ball one at a time. If they failed, each of them were punished with not so subtle shocks or with running. And if they failed, the cups rearranged themselves faster than the eye could see.

Every day the three of them would collect a fair share of bruises or scars. But they were not allowed to leave until they were all looking just as they were upon arrival. Which meant either healing trances or if one was too tired or hurt, the others would have to heal them. As was the case the first day when Harry couldn't heal himself and the girls were forced to help him.

But what she was putting them through now…it made the past three weeks seem easy in comparison. Two nights ago he'd gone to sleep in his own bed in Grimmuald Place and when he woke up…he was in the middle of this blistering hot jungle with nothing but the clothes on his back, a liter bottle of water, and a note that said he would be retrieved in four days. No lightsaber, no wand, nothing.

The first day had been the easiest. Fresh from a night's sleep he was able to explore his surroundings and found a decent place to rest in this small cave. Then the rain started. He was soaked within minutes. And worse yet, but the end of the day his bottle of water was empty. The second day he was wet, tired, thirsty, and hot. He'd found what he thought was a decent stream of water and after he'd taken his fill he ended up throwing up everything less than an hour later.

Now on the close of his second day he was tired, hungry, thirsty, sick, hot, and very very wet. In short…he was miserable. The only way he was even able to keep going was by diving deep into the Force. Which was more than likely the whole reason he was out here in the first place.

" _Ssssommeonness in my densss. Ssshould I'sss bitessss?"_

Harry immediately perked up at the first voice he'd heard in two days. But there was no one in the cave but him. "Just my imagination."

" _Yousssss ssspeaksss!"_

"Of course I speak!" Harry said into the dark cave. "Why wouldn't I?"

" _Ssspeakerss are raresss. We all know of themsss. But few ever meetsss them."_

Harry squinted his eyes into the darkness of the cave. But no matter how hard he tried he couldn't see or sense where the voice was coming from. "Enough hiding! Show yourself!"

A small black scaled head slowly rose from behind a small outcropping of rocks. " _Heresss I amsss."_ The snake hissed in near perfect English as it slowly slithered out into the open.

Whoever Harry had been expecting, there was one thing for sure. He had not been expecting to encounter a four foot long black snake that looked more than slightly poisonous if he were any judge. Completely dumbfounded, Harry could do little more than just stare blankly at the snake. " _Wellssss Sssspeaker? Are yousss sssslow?"_

Shaking his head, Harry knelt down lower and stared at the snake. "Okay…I'm speaking to a snake."

" _And I'msss ssspeaking to a humanssss. Whatsss your point Sssspeaker?"_

Harry actually felt himself laughing for the first time in weeks. "No point…just strange is all. Do you speak to humans often?"

The snake shook its head. " _Youss are the firssst. Wesss all knowsss of Sssspeakersss. But few eversss meetsss themsss."_

"You keep calling me a 'Speaker'. What do you mean by that?"

The snake inched closer to Harry, stopping a good three feet from him before coiling in on itself. " _Yousss be a Sssspeaker. Youss be a two leggedss that can sssspeak to ussss."_

"Us? You mean…snakes?"

" _Yessss. Havesss you not sssspoken to usss beforesss?"_

"No. You're the first one I've ever spoken too. So…I guess this is the first for the both of us huh?"

The snake nodded. " _Yessss. Sssso, what bringsss you to thisss cave?"_

"My mother." Harry said leaning his head back against the stone wall of the cave. "She's well…she's training me and a few others. This is a test of sorts. I think. She's trying to teach us to survive and mange on our own."

The snake gave him an almost quizzical look. Which was quite amusing coming from a snake. " _Your'ssss mother leavessss you here to tessst you? And otherssss?"_

"Yup."

The snake almost seemed to nod. " _Yourssss mother issss wissse. Motherssss cannot awaysss watch over hatchlingsss. Mussst disssscover world for yoursssself. Sssshe issss wissse to teach thissss in one sssso young."_

Letting his body relax, Harry looked out at the falling rain. The snake was right. His mother's training this summer was almost bordering cruel. But she was readying him for the real world. Plus, now he had someone to talk to over the next day or two. So maybe this whole little excursion wouldn't be too bad.

* * *

Standing with the rest of the adults, Nox looked on as Harry, Susan, and Daphne all slept soundly on the couches within the sitting room of Grimmuald Place. After retrieving the three of them from the small uncharted island that she dumped them on, the three had barely managed to greet everyone before promptly passing out on the nearest soft object they could find. Not that she could blame them really. She'd been pressing them hard over the past three and a half weeks. Almost on par with what experienced students faced on Korriban. And then forcing them to survive using on the Force for four days in one of the most inhospitable locations she could easily travel too…it was a mild miracle they didn't pass during the portkey ride.

But the training was definitely paying off. In less than four weeks she could feel that each of them had progressed by leaps and bounds from where they were at the start of the summer. "What possessed you to drop the three of them on an uncharted island with no food and water for four days?!"

Of course, not everyone was agreeing with her training methods. In fact…no one was. But where Amelia and Sirius at least kept their objections to themselves, Cyrus was not so restrained. "I did it because it was good training opportunity for them."

Cyrus's face was starting to turn an impressive shade of red. "Training? Teaching them magic is training. Having them practice this 'Force' magic of yours is training! Dropping them onto an uncharted island, alone, and separated from one another? That is any type of training a twelve year old should endure!"

"Yes it is. Just a different kind." Nox answered coldly. "It forced them to rely on the Force to preserve them. Which it did. And if you think that I'm being hard on them…I'm not. Trust me. The training I went through was designed for at least eighty-percent of all who entered to die before completion Cyrus."

"Just leave it Cyrus." Evelyn spoke up, laying a hand on her husband's arm. "You can't win this. We've already spoken to Daphne about this training. And I believe she told you that she would geld you if you tried to take her away. Our little girl is flourishing Cyrus. And in the end, isn't that what we both wanted?"

"I'm in agreement with Evelyn." Amelia sighed. "I spoke with Susan on her first night home. My little niece could barely even make it to her room before passing out. But she said that she would not allow me to make her stop."

"And besides," Nox pressed on ending the argument. "If it wasn't for this little outing, we might've never known about this latent ability of Harry's."

"Yeah…parseltongue." Sirius said, shaking slightly as he did. "Not sure how I'm supposed to feel about _that_ particular ability cropping up."

"It's only negative connotation is here in Britain Sirius." Amelia said swatting Sirius on the shoulder. "In certain parts of the world, Harry would be paid his weight in gold just to visit for a day or two."

Rubbing his shoulder, Sirius nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah I know. It's not even the ability really. It's more or less the fact that parseltongue is a considered a family magic. It just doesn't crop up randomly. And in Britain the only known practitioners of parseltongue are-"

"The descendants of Slytherin." Nox answered. "Which is why this Voldemort of yours held such credibility. His ability speak to snakes tied him directly to Slytherin."

"So how is it then, that young Harry has the ability?" Cyrus asked. "Last I heard, the Potters were not renowned for parseltongue or being related to Slytherin."

"It is possible that when I destroyed the soul shard within Harry, that some of Voldemort's latent powers, such as parseltongue, were absorbed by Harry." Nox shrugged. "It's a long shot, but at the moment it is the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with. And before you ask Sirius, I already checked. Twice. The only soul within Harry is his own."

Looking back at her sleeping apprentices, she fought against smiling at what she saw. Hedwig had apparently discovered that her Master was home, and was now perched on the arm rest next to Harry's head and was delicately shifting through his hair with her beak. "Allow Harry to sleep for another two hours. Then wake him and get him cleaned up." Nox said turning to Sirius. "We have a dinner invitation to uphold."

"I still don't see what the point is." Cyrus chuckled. "They've always been firmly in _his_ pocket."

"You know as well as I Cyrus that eventually he will come after us." Nox said turning and exiting the room so that the youngsters could sleep in peace. "I'm not looking to sway them completely. Just to make them doubt his decisions. And if we can make them doubt. Then that will fracture his powerbase and make him all that much easier to deal with in the long run."

* * *

"Ron! Straighten up your robes. Fred, George if I see one prank from either of you I swear neither of you will be able to sit for the rest of the summer! Percy…you look fabulous my dear. Now are you sure that we have everything set at the table?"

While her mother tearing through the house and her brothers, Ginevra 'Ginny' Weasley, was doing her best to keep herself from hyperventilating. Harry Potter. _The_ Harry Potter. Was coming to her, Ginny Weasley's, house for dinner! Sure the main purpose of the dinner was so that Madam Nox, Harry's guardian, Sirius Black and her father could talk about politics or something like that. But none the less…Harry Potter was coming to her house!

"Ginny! There you are, here let me take a look at you." Ginny was roughly pulled from her thoughts as her mother grabbed her by both shoulders and made sure that her hair was correct for the tenth time that day. "There…perfect! Ron! I swear put that down now or you won't be eating for a month young man!"

Ginny giggled as Ron dropped the biscuit that was half way to his mouth as if he were suddenly burned. "Molly, calm down dear," her father said after coming down the stairs and seeing the whirling that was her mother. "Sirius, Amelia, and Nox are coming here for dinner and a talk. They're not coming to condemn us."

Her mother finally stopped, or at least slowed down, as her father placed his hands on her shoulders. "I know Arthur. It's just…this is important. For more than one reason."

"I know love." Her father said leaning over and placing a kiss to his wife's forehead. "Now kids, come in here please."

Ron was the first to enter the living room, which was understandable considering he was just in the kitchen. Fred and George came down next. Each of them wearing identical robes their mother had picked out. Percy was last, and from the way his lips were moving he was practicing a speech. Again. It was a safe bet that Percy was going to be plastering his lips right to Madam Bones and Madam Nox bum's as soon as they arrived. Which was only in a few minutes!

Once they were all in a line in front of the fireplace, her father stepped in front of them. "Now boys, and Ginny. I want all of you on your best behavior tonight. That means no pranking. No pestering. Mind your manners. And just be yourselves."

Just as her father finished speaking, the fireplace roared to life. The first to step out was a middle-aged man with long black hair and a close cut beard who was none other than Sirius Black. Next was a stern looking woman with a monocle in one eye, who was unmistakably Amelia Bones. When Madam Nox stepped out of the fireplace, Ginny was sure that all four of her brother's jaws hit the floor. The woman look every inch one would expect a noble to look. In short…incredibly beautiful. Next out of the fireplace was girl who looked to be either hers or Ron's age, who immediately went next to Madam Bones.

The last person out was the one she'd been looking forward to meeting ever since she was old enough to listen to her father tell her bedtime stories. Harry Potter. The savior of the wizarding world. The young man she had a not so secret crush on. He stepped out of the fireplace…and immediately stumbled forward and just barely managed to stop himself before he collided with her.

"Haha! Still not use to the floo huh pup?" Lord Black teased Harry, something which made Ginny want to bat-boogey the man.

"Still tired Sirius." Harry mumbled. And he looked it too. Sure he looked immaculate…and incredibly handsome. But…he also look exhausted. And for that matter, so did the other young girl.

Stepping forward, her father coughed nervously. "Hem. Lord Black. Madam Bones, Madam Nox. And I assume that this is young Susan and Harry Potter? Yes, I welcome you all to the Burrow. This is my wife Molly. My son's Percy, Fred, George, and Ron. And our youngest, Ginevra. My two oldest boys, William and Charlie are unfortunately away on work. And…Madam Nox? Is everything alright?"

Tearing her eyes away from Harry, Ginny turned towards Madam Nox. The adoptive mother of Harry Potter didn't seem to be paying attention to anyone. Instead she was looking up towards the ceiling with a concentrated look. "Aha. Found you little rat."

Without warning, Madam Nox's wand appeared in her hand and she held it up towards the ceiling. The sound of shattering wood followed quickly by a loud pitch squeal came from upstairs. Ginny turned just in time to duck as Scabber's cage came flying down the stairs and across the room. By the time it passed over her head, the wooden cage had been destroyed, leaving only a frantic Scabbers squealing at the top of its lungs.

"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, taking a step forward only to be quickly restrained by Fred and George. "What are you doing to Scabbers?"

"Madam Nox!" Her father breathed stepping in front of Ron. "With all due respect…please tell me what you are doing in my home?"

Nox though, wasn't paying attention to anyone but the rat in front of her. "Hello again little rodent. It's been sometime since I last saw you. And I believe I have promise to uphold." Turning towards Lord Black, Nox pointed towards the rat. "Recognize him Sirius?"

"You're damn right I do." Lord Black growled before pulling out his wand and pointing it at the struggling Scabbers.

A blue light shot from the tip of his wand, striking Scabbers right in the side as Nox let the rat go. What hit the floor however was not a rat. It was a man. A slightly obese man who actually started chittering like a rat. "Arthur, may I present to you Mr. Peter Pettigrew." Madam Nox said staring down at the man. "The most wanted man in Wizarding Britain."

Everyone in the room stared down at the man who until just a second ago was the Weasley families pet. Her father, mother and Percy had both turned completely white as they stared down at the most wanted man in Britain while Fred, George, and Ron seemed to be doing an impressive impersonation of a fish out of water.

Suddenly Scabbers – Pettigrew moved. He was running right at her!

Before he could reach her, black obscured her vision as Harry, Harry Potter! Stepped between her and Pettigrew. Harry's fist came around and landed right against the older man's jaw, sending him spiraling through the air before he landed heavily on the floor.

" _Petrificus Totalus!"_

Ginny didn't even hear her father shout the binding spell, nor did she care to watch as Pettigrew was bound by the spell. Her eyes were only for Harry Potter. He…he stepped between her and Pettigrew! He defended her! He saved her! ' _Oh no…no blushing Ginny! Stop it right now! You're not going to act like a love stuck…oh no he's looking at me! Stay calm Ginny.'_

"Are you alight Ginevra?"

Ginny stared at her childhood hero, and now real life hero. Here was her moment to make an impression on him! "Umm, eep!"

 _'Smooth Ginny! Real smooth! You finally get a chance to impress Harry Potter and all that you can manage is a single 'eep'? He probably thinks that you're a moron now and – oh Merlin! He's smiling at me!'_

"I'm afraid that I don't speak 'eep'. Does that translate to you being okay?"

"Y-Yes I'm fine…thank you." Ginny managed to get out, despite the fact that she was sure that she was turning red from head to toe. "H-how did you know he was going after me?"

To that, Harry just shrugged. "Just figured he's a coward. So I figured he would more than likely go after the…smallest…person in the room."

At that, Ginny's head snapped up. Sure she was small. No. Petite. But no one got away with call her small! "I'm not small!" She said stomping her foot and stepping up to her childhood hero. "I just…haven't hit my growth yet! At least I can exit a floo without nearly falling on my face! So there!"

As soon as she said it, she was afraid that she'd overstepped herself. But instead of being offended…Harry just smiled. "See, I knew there was a fire within you. Don't ever hide it."

The blush that had gone away returned with a vengeance. _'Harry Potter…he likes that I'm…feisty?'_

"-swear to you Madam Nox, Lord Black, Madam Bones! If we had any idea that he was here as an animagus we-"

"There is no need to apologize Arthur." Madam Nox said as Madam Bones placed a pair of cuffs on Pettigrew. "An animagus is incredibly hard to detect. And the longer they are in their animal form, the harder they become to spot. It was actually pure luck that I even spotted him in the first place."

Her father swallowed nervously, but at the same time he looked…relieved. "Thank you Madam Nox."

Madam Nox nodded, then smirked. "In fact, I believe that you and your family deserve recognition. You did help in his capture after all."

Her father looked perplexed for a moment. "But…Madam Nox I-ouch!"

"Thank you Madam Nox!" Her mother said after stepping on her father's foot. "But your thanks is more than enough. We are just glade that we got this criminal off the streets!"

"Nonsense." Lord Black said waving his hand dismissively. "You and your family have been through a terrible ordeal. I believe restoration is in order. In fact, I insist upon it! All of your remaining children will have their Hogwarts tuition paid in full for your part in capturing this…rat."

Ginny felt her eyebrows raise, just as she was sure her father's did. She knew that her family wasn't the most well of family out there. And after watching all of her brother's head off to Hogwarts she knew that it was difficult for her parent's to pay the tuition. If they didn't have to pay…holy Merlin!

"Lord Black!" Her father breathed. "I – I don't know what to say but-"

"Then you accept. Wonderful!" Sirius said clapping her father on the shoulder. "I'll contact the goblins and draw up the contract so that your children's tuition will be paid for by the Black Family Vaults. And please Arthur, no more arguing on this. You and your family have long since deserved some help."

By then, Madam Bones had Pettigrew in cuffs and was leading him towards the fireplace with Madam Nox one step behind her. "You got a handle on this Amelia?" Nox ask staring down at Pettigrew almost like a predator stalking its prey. "If you need help with questioning…I'm more than willing to lend my expertise."

At this, Pettigrew's whimpering increased substantially. "No, there is no need." Madam Bones said, pulling Pettigrew towards the fire not too kindly. "I wasn't always a 'pencil pusher' as you say. I was an Auror for years. Taking in a pathetic little rodent like this is no problem. But…should we need to question him I will keep you in mind Nox. Susan, stay here and mind Madam Nox while I'm gone."

"Yes Auntie."

Keeping a frim hold of Pettigrew, Madam Bones threw some floo powder into the fireplace before disappearing in the green flames.

"Well then." Sirius clapped. "Now that all the excitement is over, Mrs. Weasley, I've heard legends about your famous cooking skills. And judging by the smells coming from the kitchen…they are not exaggerated."

Now it was Ginny's mom's turn to blush red. "Yes…umm please. This way. The table has already been set."

As everyone filed out of the room, Ginny couldn't help but sneak glances at Harry. ' _Harry Potter just saved me. And he wants me to be feisty…oh Merlin help me!'_

* * *

Sitting in her solar, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black was trying in vain to distract herself with the book she held in her hands. If someone were to tell her fifteen years ago that this would be her life, she would've laughed in their face and then tried to curse them. But then again…fifteen years ago she'd been a bright-eyed little foolish girl who lived in a fantasy.

She'd bought into the whole pureblood propaganda line completely. And she'd nearly done a flip when her father had told her that she would marry Lucius. She'd been ecstatic to be part of such a prominent pureblood family and to have the chance to directly serve the great Lord Voldemort. That fantasy had been brought to an abrupt and cruel end less than a day after their marriage.

She'd barely been able to enter her new home when she and Lucius had been escorted directly to an audience with the dark lord. When she'd entered the room with him, her eyes went not to the most powerful wizard in the world. No. They went to the shaking old man lying on the floor. Voldemort then ordered her to torture him. When she questioned what he'd done, he retaliated by casting the Cruciatus curse on her. And neither her husband, her sister, nor her cousin raised a hand to defend her.

After that, she was deemed unworthy of Voldemort's circle and was treated as little more than a prize brood mare by Lucius. Towards the end of the war she learned the true meaning of fear. And that was when she discovered that she was pregnant. She knew, she just knew that her child would end up as nothing more than a blood thirsty pawn of Voldemort. So she began trying to figure out how to escape. But there was no escape for her. And soon she gave birth to her son, Draco.

And then it happened. The greatest dark lord in recent memory was defeated. By a child no less! Morgana…she could've kissed young Harry for the favor he did for her that day. Finally she would be able to take her son away from Lucius, away from Britain and raise him right. But fate choose to mock her as Lucius spent nearly a third of the Malfoy family's wealth, including her dowry, in bribes so that he and several of his Death Eater friends could escape justice.

And then things got even worse when as Regulus went missing and was presumed dead. Then Bellatrix was sentenced to life in Azkaban for torture and murder. And the Sirius was proven innocent of betraying the Potters and promptly cut off her only escape route from her hell.

With no other place to turn, she focused on her son and tried her best to raise him as a true Black. But even at the tender age of twelve…she knew that it was a lost cause. Her son was a Malfoy through and through. Worse, he didn't even poses any of the redeeming qualities that her husband had. His power was mediocre at best. His critical thinking next to nonexistent. He threw money around worse than his father. And the moment anything became too difficult, he ran to Lucius in tears.

Hearing the floo come to life in the next room, she strained her ears trying to get a gauge on how things went at the Ministry. Her husband's loud cursing and the shattering of a vase told her all that she needed to know.

She didn't even look up as the doors to her solar were thrown open and her thoroughly irate husband marched in and made his way over to the fire-whiskey. "Dobby!" Lucius shouted as he drained the last bit in the decanter.

The diminutive house elf appeared next to Lucius. The poor creature was visibly shaking in fear. "Y-yes Master?"

Dobby didn't move as Lucius brought his cane around and smacked the elf upside the head. Not that he could've moved even if he wanted too. "I don't want this decanter empty again!" Lucius snapped throwing the glass bottle at Dobby, who just barely managed to catch it. "Fill it and bring it back. Now!"

Dobby nodded before disappearing. A moment later he reappeared with a full decanter and gave it back to Lucius before disappearing once again. "Something vexes you my love?"

"Vexes is not the right word." Lucius growled. "Peter Pettigrew has been found."

Narcissa felt her heart start to race. She'd been surprised as everyone else upon learning that one of James Potter's best friends was a spy for Voldemort. But after the Potter massacre, he'd disappeared. "Where was he found?"

"That is the best part. The Weasley's of all families 'caught' him." Lucius growled. "Apparently he tried posing as a family pet rat. Now the Weasley's are being herald as victims and heroes for their part in capturing the rat. Bloody fools the lot of them."

Closing her book, Narcissa stared at her husband's back. "What does he know?"

"Not much. The Dark Lord didn't reveal who his spy was, even to those of his inner circle. And we even knew that Severus was a double agent. It's possible he can name names. But that can be covered up. No…the real problem now is that Arthur has the people's support. As well as Nox's, Bones' and Black's. And that will make it that easier to pass his precious muggle protection amendment."

Setting her book aside, she rubbed at her chin. Her Black family training already told her what needed to be done from Lucius standpoint. Not that she would tell him of course. She rather enjoyed watching her 'loving husband' so flustered. "So what do we do now?"

"We will do nothing." Lucius snapped. "I however…well my Master gave me something to be used only when I knew the time was right. And I do believe that time is now."

Downing the last of his whiskey, her husband turned heel and left her. She knew where he was going. His hidden vault full of dark artifacts that she absolutely had no idea existed.

Once she was sure that she was alone, she picked up a pen and paper. "Dobby."

A snap and the small elf was by her side. "Yes Mistress?"

"Let me see your hands Dobby."

Dobby whimpered, but held out his hands none the less. Each finger was covered in a crude bandage. Her precious son more than likely ordered him to iron his hands again for failing to do some task or other. "I want you to take this to my cousin at the Ministry." She said finishing the note and sealing it. "You must not be seen by anyone but him. And you are not to tell my husband or my son about this. Am I understood?"

"Yes Mistress." Dobby said slowly before taking the letter and disappearing from her sight.

Picking up her book again, Narcissa felt a sudden thrill that she hadn't felt in a long time. ' _Morgana and Merlin…does it ever feel good to enter the game once more.'_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Here we are again folks! Sorry about the delay in chapters. But basically I had to re-plan the second year because of the way I've been writing Harry and Nox…well something just wouldn't make sense.**

 **Also I apologize for not getting to all of your reviews! Please don't stop reviewing, I promise to do better in the future. But eh, life has gotten in the way the past two weeks. Well…that and catching up on SWTOR and starting up a new game of Fallout 4…but I digress.**

 **Onto the reviews!**

 **Lackonius – Not planning on any real drama between the girls**

 **Forbidden Moons – Nothing is set in stone until it happens ;-)**

 **P053id0n – Thank you. I honestly love Ginny (not saying she will be paired up with Harry) if she is written well. The problem is quite often she isn't written very well in my opinon.**

 **Im Not a Hoe – Not Planning on Abandoning this.**

 **Guest – Made the correction, thank you**

 **Vangran – Thank you for the correction, and there will be more elements of SW entering soon…**

 **Kalabear1 – there will be some romance, but will not be center point of this fic.**

 **Red Archer – Yes story is a little dark at times and will occasionally dip into darker aspects. And again, learning curve as this was his first time away from Nox.**

 **Trgtboyz – I appreciate the advice. I use Microsoft Word when I write. Hence why I feel I need a beta as well.**

 **Gasperix – Will be a slow romance/marriage. If there even is one.**

 **HowInMadHowie – Yes kinky. Probably no to Quidditch (Draco…we'll see). Dumbledore is tame Palaptine…I kind a agree at least in this fic. Dobby, will find out in chapter.**

 **Elim Garak – Nox is still Sith at her core. Sith do not accept failure at all.**

 **Ravenic Tauro – She will still be loving Mother, just add Master to it. Too many pets and hard to keep track.**

 **– Again Nox is Sith. Impossible task or not, Tonks failed and therefore must be punished by Sith standards. There will be some deaths, but not a lot of core characters.**

 **Otah to order – She's entering this chapter.**

 **Link01742 – Glad that you enjoyed it! Hope to hear more from you soon.**

 **Iceflame55 – the rat still has a purpose…but he will be a guest of Nox.**

 **William – I respect your critisim. I try to keep somethings going, but it's hard to keep track sometimes without the story stalling. Don't wanna spend three chapters on two days' worth of events. Yes the story will follow cannon for a while, but it will diverge sooner or later. As for getting rid of Dumbledore…his hold is cemented. How easily Fudge was able to discredit him in the Fifth book was a little unrealistic. It will take time to pull out his allies before moving against him.**

 **Aetemus – Don't worry, no pretending by Harry. Ginny will not be Molly clone. And as for Dumbles, I know some people portray him as a week fool who is easily killed or disposed of. But this will not be that kind of story. Dumbledore is strong, cunning, and semi-ruthless in this story.**

 **Hope that you all enjoy this chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed/altered/or added to favorites. I never really expected this story to get this big…or receive such a nice reception. So a big thank you to everyone!**

 **Last note, still looking for a beta. If anyone is willing to take up the mantel or can suggestion someone please let me know via PM. Hope that you all enjoy!**

 **Chapter 10**

Walking into his office within the Ministry, Sirius bypassed the decanter of fire-whiskey on his desk side and picked up a glass of water before moving behind his desk and sinking into his chair. The day's session within the Ministry had pretty much been a marathon of propositions, most of which the 'Nox Coalition', as they called themselves in private, were against. And as Nox wanted to remain in the shadows as much as possible, he was the one left with the short end of the stick. His throat was just about raw from how much talking, or rather shouting, he'd been doing for most of the day.

He honestly didn't know how Remus had managed to do this for so many years while he was out chasing after Harry. If his best friend wasn't so busy working for Nox, he'd be tempted to try and push this position off onto him again. But he doubted that he would be able to pull Remus away from his nice cushy job…or the nice blond currently occupying his friend's bed at night.

His hand stilled when he felt a slight shift of magic within his office. While Nox couldn't teach him to match her level, or even Harry's level for that matter, she was able to teach him a few tricks that until a few years ago he thought were impossible. Perhaps the most useful of which was feeling out subtle shifts of magic, or the Force as she called it. And while he couldn't use what she taught him to accurately identify someone, it did allow him to 'sense' if someone was in a room with him. Even if they were disillusioned. Just like now.

Palming his wand, he pointed it towards the area of his office where the 'shift' had originated from. "Hands up and out from the shadows. Slowly."

Sirius nearly did a double take when a small house elf dressed in a ratty pillowcase with both of his hands raised almost comically above his head stepped out from behind the bookshelf in his office. "Dobby so sorry Lord Black! Dobby didn't mean to startle you!"

Staring at the elf, Sirius slowly brought his wand back into its holster. A house elf couldn't directly harm a human unless they were directly threatened or if they were defending their Master or Mistress. They could cause 'accidents' that could lead to harm. But that was a very fine line that most elves avoid like…well like clothes.

"I take it your name is Dobby?" Sirius asked, to which the house elf nodded vigorously. "So Dobby, care to tell me why you are in my office? Alone?"

Dobby looked around nervously for a moment before reaching into his dirty pillowcase and pulling out a single white letter. "Mistress asked that I deliver this to Lord Black sire. Dobby does as Mistress asks."

Sirius looked back and forth for a minute between the letter and the ever increasingly nervous house elf. "Set it on my desk." Sirius said, to which Dobby compiled almost as if the letter was on fire. "Did your Mistress say that you were to wait for a reply?"

Dobby shook his head. "No sir. Dobby is to return at once without being seen. But um…Lord Black. Please sir. Please don't let good Harry Potter get hurt sir!" And with that the elf clicked his fingers and disappeared from the middle of Sirius's office.

Sirius stared at the spot where that the house elf had just vacated trying to process what it had just said. ' _What did he mean, 'don't let Harry come to harm'? Just who sent him?'_

Turning back to the letter on his desk, Sirius pulled out his wand and started checking it with every counter-curse, counter-jinx, poison check and just about every other magical check he could think of. Once he was satisfied, he used a levitation charm to suspend the letter in the air above him. There was no name on the letter save for his own. And the wax seal on the back was lacking any identifying markings.

Using a weak cutting curse he sliced through the wax seal and then manipulated the letter out of the envelope and unfolded it onto his desk using only magic. Just because his checks didn't come up with anything didn't mean he was going to touch it. In his decade as Head of House Black, he'd received no less than a dozen poisoned, cursed, jinxed, or explosive letters. It was no wonder his father was so paranoid.

' _Dear Siri – My other half is displeased with certain happenings as of late. An item from a_ _ **Dark**_ _er time might soon find its way into the light in an attempt to stop this from happening. Be on your toes Siri. '_

Leaning back in his seat, Sirius let the letter drop to his desktop. Although she hid herself well, there was only one person who got away with calling him Siri. His cousin Narcissa. After putting a name to the letter, the rest wasn't all that difficult to figure out. Her other half was Lucius. And the uppercased 'Darker' with only 'dark' being accented in print…she had to be referring to the Dark Lord. ' _So Lucius has some item from the ol'Voldy that he thinks will stop our bill from passing.'_

Pointing his wand at the letter, he turned it to ash on his desk. His cousin took a huge risk in sending him that letter. Even as vague as it was, there would always be a possibility that someone could intercept and interpret the letter's contents. ' _So Narcissa is coming off the bench. Hmm. This is certainly something that Nox would be interested in knowing.'_

* * *

Sitting in her office within Grimmuald Place, Nox starred down absent mindedly at the dozens of reports littering the surface of her desk. Most of them were financial statements from Nox Industries. All good of course, with three of the letters detailing the progress of her Research and Development Department. In roughly three months Nox Industries would be ready to unveil their Fighter-Interceptor to the world. Two of the letters were from Gringotts. And one was from Remus and Aela detailing the progress of her more advanced and personal items.

But what was currently drawing her attention was the man and woman across from her. Or rather the information that he had just present to her. "So we know that Lucius is going to try and target one of us." She summarized. "That was never really in doubt but it is good to have confirmation. But the true question here is whether or not we can trust the word of your cousin."

"Despite everything that happened during and after the war…Narcissia is still my sister." Andromeda said looking more than slightly troubled. "A few years back we…started exchanging letters. No more than one or two a year and nothing ever specific. But from what little she told me I could tell that she was more than slightly dissatisfied with how things have been unfolding. I just assumed that it was because Sirius cut her out from the Family and denied her son the title of Heir. But…maybe the dissatisfaction was with her current family."

"We never could pin her to any of the Death Eater raids during the war." Sirius added. "And despite Lucius managing to bribe his way out of Azkaban, she was still checked. No compulsions and no Dark Mark."

"So why does she contact us now?" Nox pressed. "I doubt that she is simply providing such information from the good of her heart."

"I doubt it as well." Andromeda agreed with Sirius nodding slowly a moment later. "Narcissa may not have been as powerful or as vicious as Bellatrix. But she was probably the smartest of the three of us. If she's contacting us now, it's because she feels that there is something she can gain by doing so."

"She was certainly covering her tracks well enough." Sirius continued. "Using a house elf for mail fell out of favor about a century or two ago when owls became all the rage. But they do have their advantages. Mostly the fact that they are pretty much impossible to intercept. My feelings on her aside…Narcissa took a risk in contacting us. And she covered her tracks well. At the very _least_ I think that her actions have earned her the benefit of the doubt."

Nodding her consent, Nox let her head drop back against the cushion of her chair. "If Lucius is truly going to attempt to use some artifact to disrupt our operations, that means that he has conceded that he cannot win this fight within the Wizengamot. So what would be his next move?"

"Either blackmail or discredit." Andromeda answered almost immediately. "It's how he's always worked in the past whenever he couldn't get something to go his way."

"But who is his target?" Sirius asked Nox. "There are quite a few of us that he could go after."

"I don't know." Nox said, much to the surprise of both Sirius and Andromeda. "I'm not omnipotent. I don't know everything. And in this case, you two know this man better than I. Blackmail would be difficult for him as all of us have kept our noses clean as it were. At least to the public eye. And if that were his goal he wouldn't be using an 'artifact' from his Master. No. Discredit is more than likely his game this time around. So tell me, who would be his most likely target if he is trying to discredit our recent activities?"

Sirius bit his lip in thought, then his eyes brightened as he caught on to where she was leading them. "The Weasley's. They're the weak link in the chain."

"But Arthur's record is impeccable." Andromeda countered. "Molly is a house-witch. Their eldest sons hold respectable carriers and the rest of their children are still in Hogwarts. They're clean."

"Which is where this artifact of his comes into play." Nox countered back. "If one of the Weasley's were to do something that brought shame upon their family. Or something that went against everything that this bill stands for, the bill would be destroyed. And as its backers, we would fall from grace as well."

Leaning forward, Sirius rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. "While I agree that the Weasley's are more than likely his target, I think it best that we, to borrow a yank term, cover our bases. I'll tell Amelia to keep an eye on Susan. Lucius doesn't know, or at the most he might suspect, that the Greengrass's are with us so I suppose that we should warn them as well. But what about the kids? And the Weasley's, should we warn them as well?"

Leaning forward, Nox rested her elbows on her desk. "I've already warned Arthur that entering politics could make his family a target. I'll reiterate my point on this, but at the moment they are not firmly on our side. And I would prefer it if word of Narcissa's correspondence with us does not reach Dumbledore's ears. If it does it could lead to Snape and then potentially back to Lucius. So no. We won't tell the Weasley's about this. At least directly. For the rest of the summer we will keep a weather eye on them. And once school starts again I will task Harry with keeping eye on the children."

"You're placing a lot on Harry." Sirius said with a frown. "And I still don't like the idea of leaving Arthur and Molly out of the loop like this. Especially when one of them or their kids could be in danger."

"Harry can handle it." Nox assured Sirius with a mild glare. "And I will send Arthur reiterating my point about how dangerous this game can get and that he should take extra precautions regarding his family. And as for Narcissa's letter…the fact that she was the one who wrote to us shall remain between us three and no one else."

"Why?" Sirius asked. "Shouldn't we let it be known that we have a…well an informant I guess?"

Shaking her head, Nox started shifting through the papers of her desk. She really couldn't wait until she could configure some type of computer, even this worlds primitive ones, into her little office. Keeping hard copies of all of her notes was very tedious. "Whether knowingly or not, the moment your cousin and sister sent us that letter she became a spy for us. And there is one golden rule concerning spies. The fewer who know of their existence, the longer their life expectancy."

"Right. No one else knows." Sirius agreed quickly with Andromeda nodding her agreement.

Looking down at the papers on her desk, Nox had to fight from smiling. Another spy had fallen into her midst. Soon she would have a network rivaling that of Darth Baras. Perhaps even more complex as she wasn't just going against a single order. Yes…things were starting to pan out quite nicely.

* * *

Holding his lightsaber in Djem So guard, Harry kept his eyes trained on his two opponent's. Daphne off to his right, her double bladed blue lightsaber held firmly in front of her while she adapted a Niman stance. And Susan off to his left, her single deep red blade held up in a Makashi stance. Both of his fellow apprentices had managed to obtain their lightsabers just two days after his birthday. And for the past week the three had been training nearly nonstop with their weapons in an attempt to acclimate themselves to their new weapons before they headed off to school once more.

Daphne moved first, her blue double blade arching around her body. Stepping back, Harry deflected her blade past him and pivoted just in time to catch Susan's red blade against his own. Pushing her blade down, Harry spun shoulder to shoulder with Susan until he was facing her back. A slight Force push and Susan was thrown into a quickly advancing Daphne; who just barely managed to jump over her redheaded apprentice before bringing her blade down in an overhead slash.

Using a high guard he managed to get his lightsaber up in a guard just in time to stop it. But Daphne countered with a Force push of her own which sent him spiraling backwards.

Righting himself quickly, Harry drew his wand into his left hand and cast an _agumenti_ charm on the floor before hitting the newly conjured water with the _glacius_ charm. The combination of the two created a thick layer of ice with Harry on one side and the girls on the other.

Susan and Daphne didn't even miss a beat. While Susan used the Force to throw a pair of benches at Harry, Daphne drew her wand fired a powerful _incendio_ charm at the ice. The ice didn't just melt, it completely vaporized. Leaving a thick layer of mist in the room and obscuring Harry vision.

Dropping to the floor, he felt the wind rustle the back of his neck as the benches passed just over his head. Deactivating his lightsaber he ran into the mist. Reaching out with his senses, he found first Daphne who was off to his left, and then Susan who was off to his right. They'd both done the same as him and deactivated their lightsabers to try and hide themselves.

Crouching down, Harry waited until both girls where nearly on top of him before springing into action. Before either could react, Harry jumped up in the air and kicked back hitting Daphne right in her upper chest just below her neck with his foot. At the same time he activated his lightsaber and thrusted it towards Susan. The blade struck right above her heart. A killing blow had their weapons not been set to training mode.

Landing in a crouch, Harry pushed the mist away with the Force to reveal a downed Susan and Daphne. Both of whom were coughing and holding onto their chests.

A slow clap drew Harry's attention away from the girls and towards the entrance. His mother was standing just within the entrance to the training room along with Sirius, Remus, Aela, Cyrus, Evelyn, Amelia, and little Astoria. This was the first and only time all of them had been in training room at the same time together. With only two weeks left in the summer, his mother had decided that a sort of demonstration of skills was warranted to show their respective parents or guardians how far they'd advanced over the summer. And based on the completely awe struck faces of the adults…they'd advance a fair amount since the beginning of the summer.

Deactivating and sheathing his lightsaber, Harry helped first Susan and Daphne up off of the floor. "Well done." His mother said advancing on three of them. "All three of you."

As one the three apprentices bowed. "Thank you Master."

Drawing even with them, his mother turned her attention first to Daphne. "Daphne. You need to work on your defense more while you're wielding your lightsaber. Two blades does not automatically equate to a better defense. There were at least a dozen openings that a more seasoned warrior could've taken advantage of. To counter this, you should press your advantage whenever possible. Focus more on Juyo rather than Niman."

"Yes Master."

"Susan. Makashi works well for you. However your form is still sloppy. You need to refine it to your own body. You stay too much to the basic moves within the form. Expand the form. Try stringing different movements together. Make the form your own."

"Yes Master."

"And Harry."

"Yes Master?"

His heart jumped up into his throat as his mother approached him with a completely blank face. "Keep up the good work my son. And one day soon you might just be able to rival myself with a lightsaber."

Harry's heart settled down into its proper place, and he felt his chest swell with pride. "Thank you Master."

"I must say Nox…you've certainly come through on your promise." Amelia said taking a step forward. "In fact, would you be open to be a contracted trainer? I swear if my Aurors had even half of the training you are giving these three…Voldemort would've never been able to rise to power in the first place."

"Perhaps." His mother said looking somewhat thoughtful at the idea. "We'll have to discuss it at another time. But for now…I think you three have more than earned a day of rest. Spend the rest of the day with your families."

"Yes Master!" The three bowed, before Susan bolted over to her Aunt while Daphne marched with her head held high towards her own parents.

"Harry, stay with me for a moment." His mother called out to him, stopping him in his tracks.

Harry spared a glance towards Sirius, Remus and Aela. The latter two seemed somewhat confused, but Sirius seemed to know what was going on. "Well catch up soon pup." Sirius said ruffling his hair before ushering Remus and Aela out the door.

Once they were alone, his mother pulled out her wand and warded the doorway. "Is something wrong mother?" Harry ask fighting back his nervousness.

"No. Nothing is wrong Harry." His mother said, much to his relief. "Quite the opposite actually. I don't often say this Harry, but I am thoroughly impressed with the strides that you have made this summer."

Harry felt his chest warm at her praise. "It was all because of your teachings mother."

"A teacher is only successful if the student is willing to learn." His mother countered back with a slight smile. A smile which slowly withered. "I've been hard on you this summer Harry. Harder than some believed to be necessary."

"It's alright mother. I understand wh-"

"No Harry. I don't think you truly do understand." His mother said cutting him off. And then in a move that surprised him more than slightly, she stepped up and wrapped him up in a tight hug. "You scared me a few months ago Harry." She breathed into his hair. "Force…I don't think you truly understand just how much you scared me."

Deciding that actions spoke louder than words, Harry wrapped his arms around his mother's waist and pressed himself against her before resting his head against her shoulder. The two stood in silence for a long time just taking comfort and enjoyment in each other's company.

"Well then," his mother chuckled backing away first. It might've been a trick of the light, but Harry could've sworn that the edges of her eyes were moist. Not that he would ever point it out of course. "Some Darth I am. If Ashara could see me now…Force she would never let me live it down."

Hearing the name of his mother's lover brought Harry up short. He knew her name and that she and his mother were involved. But other than that…his mother had remained closed lipped about the subject. "Mother…you've never talked about Ashara."

His mother gave him a slight smile. "When you're actually old enough to understand such matters Harry, then I will tell you about Ashara. But I didn't hold you up to complement on your progress or for a trip down memory lane. I have a task for you this year."

Straightening, Harry faced his mother. "Name it mother."

"What a dutiful son I've raised." His mother said patting his cheek. "We've received word from a source, who for now will remain anonymous, that Lucius Malfoy is less than pleased with us and will be attempting something…drastic. Using an artifact crafted by Voldemort himself."

"So what are we going to do?"

His mother didn't respond right away, preferring instead to star off into the distance. "How are your friends Hermione and Ron doing this summer?"

The abrupt change of subject made him blink in confusion. "Um, well Hermione just got back from a vacation with her parents. And Ron is well…he's doing okay I guess. If you take into consideration that he's been living and sleeping next to the most wanted man in Britain for years and only just now realized it. I think both of them said that they were planning on head to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get school supplies as well."

"Good. Then we will be going as well." His mother's tone left no room for argument. "But onto your task this year. Seeing as how our 'source' has been unable to give us any further information on his plans, we are unfortunately in the dark about what Lucius is planning to use, or just who he will be using it against. So while you are at school I want you to keep a close eye on the Weasley's. Hermione too, but the Weasley's are the ones that are more than likely in danger."

"What exactly am I to be on the lookout for mother?" Harry asked rubbing the back of his head. "I really don't think that they would appreciate me going through their mail."

"It just might come to that my son." His mother said without a trace of humor. "But I don't think that it will. You've become quite remarkably adapt at identifying both light and dark aligned objects. Even when they are cloaked. Just keep an eye on your friends for any changes in their behavior or if you sense that they are suddenly carrying around a tainted object."

Harry really didn't have much say in the manner. Either he did nothing, which would go against what his mother wanted and potentially put his friends in harm's way. Or he invaded their privacy to make sure that they stayed safe. Going to a knee, Harry lowered his head. "I won't fail you again mother."

His mother's gentle fingers found their way under his chin and lifted his head so that they were staring eye to eye. "You haven't failed me yet Harry. Disappointed. Perhaps. Scared? Hell yes. But failed? No. You've never failed me son. And I know that you never will. Now get up off your knees and take a shower."

"Mother?" Harry asked awkwardly getting to his feet.

"You smell Harry." His mother said while dramatically waving her hand under her nose. "Get cleaned up and get some rest. We'll head to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

"Yes mother."

* * *

Walking through Diagon Alley, Harry made sure to stay close to his mother as they made their way through the dozen's if not hundreds of people crammed into the main shopping center of Wizarding Britain. ' _By the Force.'_ Harry cursed as another person shouldered past him at a near sprint. ' _What's going on here? I know that school is about to start again soon…but this is almost ridiculous! Note to self…we're coming here earlier next year. Ron and Hermione or not.'_

"Harry!"

Harry barely had time to brace himself before he was impacted by a blurry bushy haired witch coming towards him at a dead sprint. "Hey there Hermione." Harry grunted. If it hadn't been for his mother's training this summer he was sure that Hermione would've just ran him over. "Glad to see me?"

Hermione didn't answer him, instead she was squeezing his arms and shoulders with her hands. "Holy Merlin Harry! How did you put on so much muscle over the summer? Boys your age shouldn't be this…well you know what I mean."

"Thanks…I think." Harry said awkwardly as he stepped back. "My mother knows how to put together a tough schedule."

Hermione's eyes widened almost comically as the moved off of Harry and onto his mother. "Holy…M-Merlin! You're Ziri Nox!" Hermione nearly yelled. "I've read all about you! You're name as one of the most influential women of the twenty-first century amongst the muggles! And you're known as one of the most powerful witches of our time and – oh Merlin! Can we talk? I mean I have so many questions that I just need you to answer, I want to know how you managed to spend time in both worlds and-"

"Hermione, isn't it?" His mother asked sharply cutting his friend off. "Breathe child."

"Sorry." Hermione blushed. "It's just…well I really look up to you. You managed to build one of the greatest companies in the world and you're a witch! And Harry taught me what you taught him, I mean how to read and retain knowledge. And I can't believe they don't teach it in school! I've been able to read so much over the summer that I-"

"Hermione!" Harry laughed. "Breathe."

Hermione, her face doing an impressive impersonation of a tomato, finally managed to slow down. "I-I'm sorry Harry…Madam Nox. It's just…you're my idol Madam Nox and well…well-"

"I understand child." Harry's mother said, stepping forward and placing a hand on the girl's shoulders. "Harry has told me a lot about you. All good things I assure you. Perhaps when we have more time you and I will be able to have a more one on one discussion no?"

Hermione's blush disappeared as she beamed up at his mother. "Yes ma'am! I would love that!"

"I can tell." His mother chuckled, "now Harry why don't you stick with Hermione while you get your school supplies. I have to go to Gringotts for a moment to discuss something with Griphook."

"Alright mother."

Sparing him one last pat on the shoulder, his mother turned towards Hermione. "I look forward to speaking with you further young lady."

"Yes ma'am!"

And with that, his mother left the two of them and headed off in the direction of Gringotts.

"Oh my god! Harry your adoptive mother is brilliant!" Hermione grinned. "Do you think I could send her an owl at some point this year? Oh I have so many questions already written down for her. I'll need you to go over them too. I don't want to sound too pushy and…oh there are the Weasley's. Come on Harry lets go get our stuff!"

Harry had little choice but to follow Hermione, especially considering the fact that she'd grabbed his hand before marching towards the small assembly of red heads gathered just outside the bookstore. "Harry!" Ron yelled spotting the two of them first, "look mate! New robes! And mum's taking Ginny and I to Ollivanders to get our wands latter too!"

Holding his hands out widely, Ron spun in a tight circle showing off his newly tailored school robes. In fact, all of the Weasley children from Ginny to Percy were wearing new robes. It seemed that Sirius's offer to pay for the children's tuition had definitely made things a little easier around the Weasley household.

Shaking hands with Ron, Harry barely had a moment to brace himself before he was being thoroughly hugged by Mrs. Weasley. "Oh Harry, it's so good to see you again!" The matriarch of the Weasley family said holding him out at arm's length. "How are you after…well after everything?"

There was no need for clarification on her part. "I'm okay Mrs. Weasley." Harry said solemnly. "I'm just glad that the little rat is finally getting what he deserves."

The mood amongst the red heads instantly soured at the mention of the rat who'd been hiding as their family pet for nearly ten years. "Yes…um, where's your mother Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked awkwardly looking around.

"She's at Gringotts. Her account manager asked to speak with her about something or other." Looking around, Harry spotted a large poster of a blond man who looked as if he spent all of his time in a beauty parlor. "Umm, who's that?"

Ginny and Ron both laughed out loud while Mrs. Weasley and Hermione took on looks of absolute disbelief. "Now you've done it Harry." Ron laughed.

"That is Gilderoy-"

"-Lockhart. Our modern day Merlin."

"Winner of Witches Weekly Most Charming Smile-

"-Award. Recipient of the Order of Merlin-"

"-Third Class. And general modern day hero."

Pausing, the twins looked to at one another. "That was well done George."

"George? I thought I was Fred today."

"That's right! It's Friday so it's Fred day. Well done Fred."

"Thank you Fred. Understandable of course considering mother has pounded that knowledge into our heads."

"At least twice."  
"A day."

"For the past three weeks."

"Stop that the both of you!" Mrs. Weasley snapped at her twin sons. What she didn't see was Ginny high-fiving both of her brothers while her mum's back as turned. "That's Gilderoy Lockhart sweetie. One of the greatest wizards of the past century. And he's here today to do a book signing."

Looking into the bookstore again, Harry's heart sank. While half of wizarding Britain might've been out in the Alley…the other half was apparently crammed into the bookstore. ' _Oh shite…this is going to suck!'_

* * *

Sitting in a cushioned chair, Nox glared at the goblin across the desk from her. "Let me get this straight Griphook…you brought me down here just to tell me that my request to open Bellatrix's vault has been denied?"

To his credit, Griphook managed only a mild showing of discomfort in her presence. An amazing feat considering she was currently channeling enough dark side energy to freeze out the flames of the dozen or so candles within the room. "You have my apologizes Madam Nox. But Gringotts prizes ourselves on discretion. Despite her incarceration, Bellatrix Lestrange is still part of the Lestrange family and therefore no longer subject to the Head of House Blacks rule. And as for your claim that she is holding something insidious within her vault, Gringotts does not care. She has paid her dues in full through the next forty years. And until then the only person who can open her vault is herself or her husband if he were to invoke his head of house status."

"You could've sent all of this in a letter Griphook." Nox said evenly. "Now tell me the true reason you brought me here today lest you test my patience further."

Swallowing nervously, Griphook touched a small crystal on his desk. The doors to his office opened revealing two fully armored goblins. And in-between the two was a third who looked to have beaten within an inch of his life. "This upstart was caught trying to copy your personal files Madam Nox." Griphook explained. "Not that he would've succeeded. I left falsified copies in the official holding place and keep your true records private. But he was caught none the less. His excuse for why he did so was that he was trying to supplant me."

"And why did you call me?" Nox asked. "Surely you can handle this? Or do I need to start looking for a new accountant?"

"No Madam Nox. I can handle it." Griphook hastily assured her. "But as this slight was against you, I am leaving his fate to you Madam."

Getting up from her seat, Nox made her way back to the prisoner. The goblin's face was bloodied and broken, and she was sure that the only reason he was still able to stand was because the guards on either side where holding him up.

Drawing the dagger from the belt of one of the guards, she thrust the blade into the goblins chest between his ribs. One aspect of Sith training was an extensive tutelage on the anatomy and physiology of multiple species. It was vital for a Sith to know how to inflict the maximum amount of pain, while keeping their victim alive for as long as possible. And Nox was one of the best. A title she still held on this world after devouring every text she could find detailing the physiology of every species, magical and non-magical, that she could find.

Pulling the blade out on a downward angle, she wiped the blood off on the goblins face before returning the blade to the guard's sheath. It was a fatal wound. But it wouldn't be quick or painless. "Chop of his limbs," she said keeping her eyes on the now pleading goblin. "And feed them to your dragons. Then let him bleed out."

Without a word the two goblins dragged the now begging creature out of the office. "Your brutality is a thing to behold Madam Nox." Griphook smiled. "If only more of your kind were like you."

"If there were more like me Griphook, then there would be less like me." She said taking her seat. "But I will admit that there is a certain…release in bloodletting. Now…what other business do we have to discuss today?"

Pulling out his ledger, Griphook flipped through a couple of pages before handing the book off to her. "I believe that you wish an update on your potion brewing purchases."

* * *

Shouldering his way through the crowd within the bookstore, Harry managed to reach the shelf labeled 'Transfiguration'. Picking out three copies of second year book and one of the first year book, Harry turned around and started shouldering his way back to where Hermione and the Weasley's were waiting in line.

' _Good Merlin…if it wasn't for the hell that would be waiting for me at home, I would use the Force to clear this place out in an instant! Shite, did someone just touch my ass? No, just my imagination.'_

Finally pushing his way to where everyone was waiting, Harry began handing out the books. "Let's see here…Hermione. Ron…and Ginny."

Ron just took his book while looking totally bored out of his mind, Hermione took her book without even looking twice at him, and Ginny managed a small 'thank you' before tucking the book into her cauldron. "Witches and Wizards of Britian! I have the honor and the privilege of introducing the Order of Merlin 3rd Class Recipient and three time winner of Witches Weekly Most Charming Smile Award, Sir Gilderoy Lockhart!"

Everyone in the shop started clapping as the blond haired man whose face was plastered all of the bookstore stepped out from the back. Deciding to check for himself whether or not this man was even worth his time Harry used a little trick his mother had taught him over the summer. Reaching out with the Force Harry tried to get a feel for the man's power. What he found was disappointing to say the least. The man had some level of power…but it was certainly nothing extraordinary.

Had Harry not been focusing so hard on trying to figure out the man's worth, he would've notice when Lockhart said his name. As such, he wasn't prepared in the slightest for a reporter to grab him by the arm and drag him up to where Lockhart was standing. "Smile Harry!" Lockhart said placing a hand around Harry and turning him to face a man with a camera. "Together you and I will make the front page!"  
The reporter leveled his camera at the two of them, but before he could take the picture the camera was flying out of his hands and towards the back of the shop. "Now gentlemen…I do believe it is frowned upon to take a picture of a minor for a news article without parental consent."

Harry smirked as his mother calmly made her forward from the entrance of the store. The reporter's camera floating just beyond the tip of her wand.

Using the distraction, Harry shrugged Lockhart's hand off of his shoulder and stepped away. "O – Of course Madam Nox! A thousand apologies Madam Nox." The reporter stumbled keeping an eye on his camera, which his mother was current bouncing in the air. "Um…may I please have my camera back Madam? And um…would you mind terribly if young Harry could pose with Sir Lockhart?"

Stepping up beside the reporter, his mother flicked the camera up into the air one last time and let go. The reporter ended up eating the floor as he dove to catch his camera.

"Madam Nox?" Lockhart said smoothly, apparently overcoming his shock of her sudden arrival. "I must say…I've heard rumors of your beauty. But they do you absolutely no justice what so ever."

Half of the women in store awed as Lockhart took his mother's hand and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. His mother though…Harry just barely managed not to laugh. Her face was neutral. But her eyes were undoubtedly tinted yellow. "Yes…I'm sure."

"Well then," Lockhart smiled nervously. "Since you are here, perhaps we can clear up this little misunderstanding. Would you consent to having yours and your son's picture taken with me for the paper my dear lady?"

At first Harry was sure that his mother was going to refuse, but then she surprised him by nodding. "Wonderful!" Lockhart shouted.

While she might've agreed to the picture, his mother placed herself between Harry and Lockhart. Frowning slightly, Lockhart turned to the camera and smiled once more. Enduring the best he could, Harry stood with his mother and just barely managed to get the slightest smile on his face before the flash went off.

"Next time you touch my son Lockhart," his mother said just low enough so that only he and Lockhart could hear. "I will make sure that you live just barely long enough to regret it."

"Yes…well um. Ladies and gentlemen! Today is truly and extraordinary day! For when young Mr. Potter and his mother entered they had no idea that they would be leaving with all of my works…free of charge!" The crowd clapped in approval as Lockhart handed a large stack of books over to Harry. "And I was saving this for later…but I may as well tell you all now. I have decided that it is time for me to educate our future generation of witches and wizards. To accomplish this, I have graciously accepted the positon as Defense against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts for the next school year!"

Again the bookstore erupted into cheers. "Now then," Lockhart smiled taking his seat. "Please form a single line for signing. Only one book per person if we could. I want to get to as many as possible today."

Letting his mother guide him away from his future Professor, Harry leaned close enough to whisper. "Mother…why did you let him take our picture? The man's a fool."

"Yes." His mother answered quietly. "But we must always be mindful of public opinion. Had we denied him outright we would've lost face in the eyes of the public. I know that was unpleasant. But sometimes you just need to smile and nod my son. Do you understand?"

"Yes mother."

"Good. Now go and gather the rest of the children and head outside. I want to check for something and then I'll be right behind you."

After his mother disappeared amongst the shelves, Harry made his way over towards where he'd left the Weasley's. "Here Ginny." Harry said dumping hefting the stack of books. "You can have them if you want."

Ginny's eyes bulged at the stack, but she was saved from having to carry them as Mrs. Weasley took the stack. "That won't be necessary Harry…but I'll take them and get them signed for you. Now why don't you children all go and wait outside. It's awfully crowded in here."

Together, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny made their way towards the exit. Harry could just barely smell the outside air when an oily voice pulled them all up short. "Bet you loved that didn't you Potter?" ' _I guess it was too much to ask not to run into the fool today.'_

"What do you mean Malfoy?" Harry asked, turning his head towards Draco Malfoy.

Smirking, Draco stepped down off the staircase in the bookstore. "Being pulled in for a picture like that. Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookstore without getting your picture taken. Professor Snape is right. You're nothing more than an attention seeking fool."

Harry made to retort, but Ginny beat him to the punch. "Leave him alone!" Ginny said quite firmly as she stepped up between Draco and Harry. "He didn't ask for that."

Draco looked down at Ginny, and then smirked again. "Look here. You got yourself a girlfriend. And she fights for you. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all…you got famous for letting a woman fight and die for you."

Harry didn't even realize that he'd drawn his wand until the tip was right under Draco's nose. "Careful what you say Draco."

Draco nearly went cross-eyed as he stared down at the tip of the wand under his nose. And he absolutely reeked of fear. "Now now children…this isn't acceptable behavior in such a public setting." A smooth cultured voice said from behind Draco. "Although considering who your parents were…I'm hardly surprised at your brash attitude."

Looking behind him, Draco moved off to the side as an older version of his classmate stepped into the bookstore. ' _So this is Lucius Malfoy…he looks even more pompous than his son.'_

"My parent's died fighting Voldemort." Harry said clearly, stepping up beside Ginny. "They at least had the fortitude not to fall victim to an…Impervius curse. Unlike some."

Lucius lips curled upwards. Almost quicker than Harry could follow, Lucius reached out and picked out one of the books from Ginny's cauldron. "New books? And new robes? Did your parents have to place a second lean against your pathetic little house in order to afford this? Or did they just sell you to Potter like a common whore?"

Ginny's face completely drained of color, Hermione gasped in shock, and Ron went so red his skin matched the color of his hair. As for Harry…he so very badly wanted to blast the man out of the shop and then start practicing his lightsaber drills on the pompous fool. But he held himself in. If only barely. He knew a bait when he saw one. Besides…he didn't need to.

"Well well…can't win an argument in the Wizenagmot. So you've degraded to targeting children." His mother said, coming up from behind them and placing a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "And just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower…you go and prove me wrong."

Snarling, Lucius thrust Ginny's books back into her cauldron before turning out of the shop. "Come Draco. We're leaving."

"This isn't over Potter." Draco sneered before heading out after his father.

"Of course it isn't." Harry sighed before turning to Ginny. "Ginny…you know none of us believe what he said right?"

Ginny swallowed, but nodded. "Yes…"

"I can't believe that…that man is the government!" Hermione fumed. "He should be removed for saying something like that!"  
"You would think wouldn't you?" His mother said guiding them towards the exit. "Unfortunately…the wizarding world is hardly a fair place."

As they exited the bookstore, Harry's foot caught against a loose floor board just outside the exit. Flailing his arms, he tried to stop himself, but ended up falling directly into Ginny. ' _Good lord!'_ Harry thought as the two hit the ground side by side. ' _I didn't realize she had a set of lungs on her too! I think she popped an ear drum with that scream!'_

"Are you okay Ginny?" Harry asked pushing himself up off the ground just as Mrs. Weasley came rushing out of the shop in order to help her daughter back to her feet.

"Um, yes." Ginny replied as her mother helped her back to her feet. Ginny looked down at her now dirty dress and fixed him with a mild glare that was only ruined by the steadily reddening blush coloring her cheeks. "I thought Hermione said that you were graceful."

"I usually am." Harry replied awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "Here, let me help you pick up your books."

One by one Harry picked up each book off the ground and brushed them off before handing them back to Ginny. Once all of them were back in her cauldron, she started shifting her feet. "Ummm…thanks Harry." She said with a blush.

"No problem." Harry chuckled. "After all, I'm the one who made the mess. I should be the one to clean it up."

"Oh, if only my own boys could take up that mentality." Mrs. Weasley sighed before pulling out her wand and waving it at the stain marks on Ginny's dress. "Now come on Ginny, we need still need to get you wand dear. Harry dear…it's good to see you again!"

With a smile, Mrs. Weasley took Ginny by the hand and started leading her towards Ollivander's. Ginny managed to stop long enough to turn around towards him. "Goodbye Harry! See you on the train to Hogwarts in a week!"

"Yeah, see you soon Ginny." Harry smiled back.

Turning his back on the two, Harry walked over towards where his mother was standing. "Do you have it?"

Harry nodded and pulled out a small leather diary from where he'd stashed it within his robes. "I didn't actually think he would make his move here mother." He said handing the diary over to his mother.

"Neither did I." His mother said looking the diary over. "'Tom Marvolo Riddle'. Hmm. It appears that our mysterious Dark Lord now has a name. Well done Harry. Very well done."

* * *

"Merlin and Morgana." Amelia sighed throwing the book across the table top.

"I think that you can use harsher language than that dear." Sirius said as he thumbed through another copy of Lockhart's book. "I think bloody fucking arse hole is more appropriate in this situation."

After the trip to Diagon Alley Harry's mother had called for an impromptu meeting of their alliance. And now everyone was sitting around the large dining table within Grimmuald Place with Lockhart's scattered amongst them. At first, everyone was confused as to why his mother had called them all, but once she'd pointed out the discrepancies she'd found within his books. And after she revealed what she sensed upon touching him. The mood at the table shifted from confusion to outright hatred.

"To think that I actually offered this man a job. I nearly begged him to join up." Amelia growled glaring at the half a dozen books scattered across the table top. "And to think that Dumbledore has actually hired this man to teach defense. I'm seriously starting to question that man's sanity."

"You're not the only one." Evelyn growled, going one step further by actually throwing the book she'd been reading into the fireplace. "Until an hour ago one of my more treasure possessions was an autographed copy of that man's book. Now…I going to go home and use the damn thing for target practice."

"Yes…the man is a fraud." His mother said setting her book down. "But this situation could prove to be most…fortuitous for us."

"Fortuitous? How do you figure?" Sirius grimaced. "A trained monkey could probably teach better than this guy."

"It's fortuitous because it presents an opportunity for Harry to create a powerbase within the student body right under Dumbledore's nose."

"Mother?"

Turning towards him, his mother graced him with one of her rare true smiles. "You are a wonderful son Harry. But it is time for you to step out from my shadow and start forging your own path. But in order to do so you need a powerbase that is completely your own."

Biting his lip, Harry nodded. He could understand what she was saying, but only to a point. They already had a powerbase…didn't they? "I can see where you're coming from Nox." Cyrus said leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "But how is having this fraud Lockhart going to help Harry?"

"Simple." His mother said waving towards the books. "I doubt this Lockhart could even fight his way out of a wet paper bag let alone teach students how to properly defend themselves. Harry can use this to gather students who want to learn and begin instructing them."

"Master?" Daphne blinked. "You…you want Harry to start teaching students at Hogwarts how to use the Force?"

"No." His mother answered quickly. "At least not immediately. This year you will on teach them how to meditate and how to augment their internal magic with the Force. And it won't be everyone. Only those that you feel can be trusted completely."

"The idea has merit." Remus nodded. "With Harry's fame, and I know that you don't like it but it is something that can be used. You can easily attract students to this club. And if it's official-"

"It won't be an official club. At least not this year." Nox said, abruptly cutting off Remus. "An official club would mean that it would need to be sponsored and supervised by a professor. Not to mention that it would be open to all students. I do not want certain individuals learning just how much we know, and I will not have Harry teach potential enemies skills that can used against us. So this year it will be an exclusive 'study group', if you will. Next year once Harry's main powerbase is cemented we can look at creating an official club that teaches more towards the school curriculum."

"So you're having Harry create his own little 'inner circle'." Cyrus smiled. "Just like us. Dumbledore. And Voldemort."

"Yes." His mother said before turning to Harry. "Do you understand your task son?"

"Yes mother."

"Um, Master?" Susan asked raising her hand, and then lowering it with a blush as everyone began looking at her quizzically. "What about Daphne and myself. Do you want us to be with Harry as well?"

"Yes." His mother answered with hesitation, shocking all three apprentices. "But Daphne's identity, and that of whoever she brings with her, is to remain anonymous to anyone outside of this inner circle if you will. Can you handle that Daphne?"

"Yes Master." Daphne nodded without hesitation.

"Well…this is all well and good. But there is one big problem that we haven't address yet." Sirius said. "Where exactly are they supposed to train? The portraits and ghosts are Dumbledore's eyes and ears within the school. He knows every secret passageway, unused classroom, secret rooms, broom closets, and just about any place you can think of for a good snogging."

"It's a shame that Filch nicked the map from us in our final year. It probably could've helped right about now." Remus sighed.

"What map?" His mother asked, leaning forward and semi-glaring at Sirius and Remus.

Remus and Sirius both looked at each other sheepishly before Sirius turned to address the question. "Umm, well you see during our fifth year James wanted to keep an eye on good old greasy Snivellus and Lily. So he came up with this ingenious idea to use map out every inch of Hogwarts. Between the four of us we managed to scout out just about every inch of Hogwarts using James's invisibility cloak. Then we all transferred the maps we created in our heads onto a piece of parchment."

"The true value of the map however came about when James and I discovered an old charm used to track everyone in a specific area." Remus continued. "So over the course of two weeks, we would go out every night and place magical markers around school. It took the four of us together to put enough power into the charm to make it actually work. And we still ended up passing out in the Astronomy tower. Thank Merlin we managed to wake up at sunrise before anyone found us. But in the end, the charm worked. And we had a fully functioning map that not only detailed every inch of Hogwarts, but also named and tracked every individual within the castle walls as well."

"No wonder you three were able to pull of such ridiculous pranks the second half of your fifth year and your sixth year." Evelyn said in mild awe, before her eyes narrowed. "By the way…I still owe you two for that 'panty raid' of yours. Whose bright idea was it to attach them to the candles in the Great Hall anyway?"  
Harry's mother however, was glaring daggers at the two now shifting men, and Harry could've sworn that he felt the temperature in the room drop. "And why are we only hearing about his map now?"

"Umm, honestly because we forgot about it." Remus answered, earning himself a slap upside the head curtesy of Aela.

"In our defense though," Sirius added quickly. "Our luck ran out near the end of our seventh year when Dumbledore and Filch caught us one night and Filch confiscated the map. We're just lucky I guess that neither of them really realized what it was or how to use it. We weren't able to get it back before we graduated. And then after that there was the whole war and everything and we…well we plain forgot about it until now."

"Harry-"

"Yes mother, retrieve the map this year as well." Harry didn't need his mother to tell him to fetch the map this year. It would give them a serious edge up within the castle walls.

"Good." His mother nodded to him. "Sirius, Remus. You two will provide Harry with everything he needs to know about this map. What it looks like, how to use it. Everything."

"Yes mum." Sirius intoned, earning his own slap upside the head by Amelia.

"This map of theirs may indeed help our kids, but we are still left with the same problem in the meantime. Where are they going to train?" Cyrus asked.

"I believe I have an answer to that," his mother said, "Kreacher."  
A pop later and the small house elf was standing next to her. "Yes Mistress?"

"When I went to Hogwarts, you managed to bypass the wards without incident. How?"

Kreacher started rubbing his hands together nervously. "All house elfs can come and goes to Hogwarts at will Mistress. As long as Family is there as well. But…we's can't be takin anything with us when we's go Mistress."

"I understand. Will you be able to go to Hogwarts this year?"

Kreacher shook his head. "No Mistress. I'm sorry. But Harry be Mistress's son. He's not Kreacher's Family. Kreacher cannot enter Hogwarts unless direct Family is there."

"Our House elf Gilly will be able to enter Hogwarts through Daphne if what Kreacher told us it true." Evelyn said. "But why?"

"Thank you Kreacher, you can go." His mother dismissed the elf before turning to Evelyn. "I want your house elf to go and talk to the other elves at Hogwarts. If anyone knows the school better than Dumbledore it will be them. And it is my hope that they will be able to recommend a location for them to train."

"Bloody hell…that's brilliant!" Sirius shouted. "Merlin…why didn't any of us ever think of that when we were kids."

"Because you were kids." His mother countered. "And sometimes it takes and outsiders view to see that which is right in front of you. Now, does anyone else have anything to add or that they wish to discuss? No? Good. Then I believe Harry and the girls need to pack for school tomorrow. Remus, Aela. Please stay a moment. I wish to discuss the plans for the exposition later this year."

* * *

Sitting in the train cabin with Hermione across from him, Harry looked at his watch. ' _11:55…where are they? The train leaves in five minutes!'_

"What do you think is taking them so long?" Hermione asked leaning out the window and surveying the assembled masses waving goodbye. "The trains going to leave soon and they'll be left behind and…and…and I don't know! There has never been a recorded incident of someone missing the train before!"

Shaking his head at his friend's antics, Harry stared out the window again. A pack of redheads suddenly appeared from the portal leading to the muggle side of London, each of whom were pretty much running at a full sprint. "There they are." Harry laughed as the Weasley's pushed their way through the crowed and board the train with less than two minutes to go.

Righting himself in his seat again, Harry picked up one of his books on defense and started reading. "Harry…which book is that? I don't remember reading it on the Defense Course book list for this year."

"That's because it isn't." Harry said handing the book over to Hermione. "It was recommended to me by Madam Bones. And truthfully…this Lockhart fellow is nothing but a piece of shit fraud."

"Harry! Language!" Hermione gasp. "And you shouldn't talk that way about a teacher! And, and look at everything that he's done in his books!"

"Books don't always tell the truth Hermione." Harry countered, which of course completely infuriated Hermione if the sudden wave of anger pouring off of her was any indication. "Tell you what Hermione. If Lockhart actually teaches us anything useful within the month of classes…then I'll buy you a complete book series of your choosing."

Hermione, her anger completely gone, suddenly looked like she'd won the lottery. "And…if he doesn't?"

"Then you need to admit to me that not everything printed in books is entirely factual."

Hermione bit her lip and looked off to the side. "Deal!" She yelled thrusting out her hand.

The two shook hands, and as soon as they parted the door to the compartment slid open. "Bloody hell." Ron gasped breathlessly before throwing his trunk up into the overhead compartment and dropping down heavily into the seat next to Hermione. "Three trips back to the Burrow because we forgot something. I honestly didn't think we'd make it!"

"Language Ronald." Hermione chided him.

"Whatever." Ron said waving her off, which made Hermione huff and bury her nose back into her book. "So mate, how was your last week of summer?"

Before he could answer, the compartment door slid open again. This time a nervous looking Ginny was standing in the doorway with her trunk right behind her. "Umm, I can sit with you?"

"What? No way Ginny! Go find your own friends!"  
Ginny's face turned red, although whether from embarrassment or anger at Ron's comment Harry didn't know. Hermione however turned to Ron and roughly slapped him on the shoulder. "Ronald! That isn't nice! She's your sister!"

Harry however, tune out the impending argument. His eyes were on Ginny…but his mind was back to last night when his mother pulled him aside.

 _-Flashback-_

 _"You want me to befriend Ginny? Why?"_

 _Harry had been just about to begin his nightly meditations when his mother came into his room and said with little room for argument that she wanted him to befriend the youngest Weasley. "Surely you noticed Harry." His mother frowned at him. "That girl is an untapped well of potential. One day, with proper training, she could easily be on par with you, Daphne, and Susan. With us, she could become a great asset. Against us however, she could become a formidable foe."_

 _His mother was right. After meeting Ron and his brothers, none of whom seemed to be remarkable in terms of Force potential, he hadn't been expecting much from Ginny. But when he first saw her…Force. She was powerful! Untrained yes. But powerful none the less. "Yes I felt it mother." Harry replied. "But…how do I befriend her?"_

 _His mother just laughed. "Oh my son. So naïve. You've already done a fair job of it with your little stunt in Diagon Alley, not to mention saving her from Peter. And surely you've felt how she feels about you."_

 _Harry felt his face heat up at the reminder. While he wasn't nearly as attuned to sensing emotions as his mother, he could easily feel the attraction Ginny felt for him the moment they laid eyes upon one another. It was flattering and…a little unsettling. He didn't even know her and she was already attracted to him!_

 _"Yes mother I felt it. And I'll do my best to make sure she is with us."_

 _"Good. Now I'm not saying that you should manipulate or play with the girl's emotions. That could wind up ending badly for you and us. But don't be afraid to use her feelings for you to your advantage."_

 _-End Flashback-_

"Sure Ginny," Harry said over Ron and Hermione's bickering. "There's a spot right here next to me if you want it."

Ginny beamed at him. Ron frowned at him and Hermione smiled smugly at Ron. "Harry?" Ron growled as Harry stood up and placed Ginny's trunk into the overhead compartment.

"What?" Harry asked sitting down and patting the seat beside him for Ginny, which she took after sticking her tongue out at her brother. "Remember how you felt last year when your brother's didn't let you sit with them? Same thing with Ginny here. No reason why we can't all be friends."

Ron looked like he wanted to say more, but wisely kept his mouth shut. For a moment. "Fine. She can ride with us. But she better have her own friends to ride with after this!"

"Ronald! That is so rude! She's your sister!"  
As Ron and Hermione began tearing into one another, Ginny leaned towards Harry. "Are they always like this?" She asked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Usually." Harry responded, nudging Ginny. "And look at you…able to speak to me without too much of a blush. Have I repulsed you so?"

"Shut up Potter." Ginny growled, her blush returning in full force.

Chuckling, Harry sat back down fully into his seat and watched out the window as the rained passed invisibly through London and out into the countryside. Eventually, either from lack of things to say or lack of breath, Hermione and Ron mercifully stopped arguing and sat side by side with each other. Both pointedly glaring away from one another.

After about an hour of riding in silence, Ginny gasped and then got up from her seat and ran out of the compartment. "What was that about?" Ron asked.

"I don't know." Harry said felling confused. Just before she'd left he'd felt…something in the Force. But for the life of him he couldn't figure out what.

A moment later Ginny returned. But she wasn't alone. Just behind her was a blond haired girl who was wearing bottle cap earrings and had her wand tucked behind one ear. "Everyone, this is my friend Luna Lovegood." Ginny introduced the girl. "Luna, this is Hermione Granger. You know my brother Ron. And this is Harry Potter."

Harry just stared at the girl. The strange feeling was revolving around this girl. "Hello." She said looking at each of them. "Ginny was nice and said I could sit with you. I hope that is okay. The other compartments turned me away…but I fear they were all infected with nargles. This compartment is quite clear of them. Can I sit?"

Hermione nodded and moved over so that Luna could sit down across from Harry. Once she was seated, she pulled out a magazine, turned it upside down, and started reading.

"Well?" Ron pressed as Ginny took her seat once again.

"Well what?" Luna asked lowering her magazine.

"You've just met Harry Potter…and all you say is hello?" Hermione asked clearly confused.

"Was I supposed to act differently?" Luna asked innocently before turning towards Harry. "I'm sorry if I've offended you."

"Not at all." Harry said waving of her concern. "It's actually kind of refreshing."

Luna smiled at him before raising her magazine to eye level again. Biting the inside of his cheek, Harry reached out and felt the girls Force presence. Sighing, Luna set down her magazine again, got up and sat down right in Harry's lap.

"Luna!" Ginny gasped at her friends display. "What are you doing?"

"Harry wanted to feel me." Luna answered simply. "Daddy and mommy touched all the time. But daddy said I'm not allowed to touch, or be touched like he touched mommy until I'm older. Although it did look like fun. Mommy never seemed to complain."

"Luna!" Hermione struggled. "Sitting on someone's lap uninvited…it isn't proper!"

"No? Oh such a shame. Perhaps you want to sit on his lap then? Or one of the other four."

"What?" Harry asked looking up at the girl currently perched on his lap. "What 'other four'?"

Luna tilted her head off to the side as if she were listening to something. "I see six around you Harry. Ginny, Hermione, myself…and three others I cannot see. But unfortunately only one of us will sit on your lap in the future. Shame…you seem to have room for more than one. If I don't sit on your lap…maybe I can sit on the lap of the one who does."

And with that, Luna got up off of him and moved back to her seat.

Swallowing, Harry tried to discreetly rearrange himself. He'd rather embarrassing discovered that he'd started puberty this summer when he woke up after a rather inappropriate dream. ' _Force…please don't let Ginny or Hermione notice. Luna…she had too have. But thankfully she's merciful enough not to say anything.'_

After that, the compartment settled into a more than slightly awkward silence broken only the sound of pages rustling as Luna turned the pages in her magazine. Mercifully, the food trolley arrived a few minutes later and everyone got up to get something. Everyone but Harry that was. He was still embarrassingly enough suffering from the predicament caused by Luna sitting on his lap. Instead he passed some money off to Ron and told him what he wanted.

"Tell me Harry…did your mother truly travel the stars to find you?"

Harry nearly spit out the pumpkin juice that he was drinking. ' _Force…how could she possibly? Or is she guessing? No. That look in her eyes. She isn't unsure at all. But how does she know?'_

"What kind of silly question is that?" Hermione asked as Ginny pounded on Harry's back. "No one can sail that star's!"

"How do you know?" Luna asked looking towards Hermione.

Hermione opened her mouth to respond. But then shut it again. Luna smirked towards Hermione and closed her magazine. "Just because you believe something to be untrue or impossible doesn't make it so." She said in a matter-of-fact tone before turning to Harry. "You don't have to tell me. I understand if you want to keep it quiet. I just hope that if I'm the one to sit on your lap in the future that you will tell me all your secrets."

Looking out the window, he saw Hogwarts off in the distance. ' _I need to write to mother right away.'_ Harry thought looking back at Luna. ' _It appears we have another remarkably Force sensitive individual on our hands._ '


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N – Just a quick note here. Just want to say thank you to everyone! This is the first story that I've had that has gone over 1,000 followers! That has simply blown me away! Next goal is 1,000 favorites then 1,000 reviews!**

 **As for updates, I'm going to try and keep my updates to once a week. But don't necessarily be surprised if that is extended to once every 10-14 days. Got some RL projects coming up on the home that will require a lot of my time.**

 **And a big thank you to any guest reviewers that I couldn't answer back with a PM. Thank you very much!**

 **Still Hunting for a beta reader. So if you wanna volunteer or any suggestions for a good beta reader please PM me and let me know.**

 **Lastly, there is an author's note at the bottom for something mentioned in this chapter.**

 **Chapter 11**

"I still can't believe that those…those horses are pulling the carriages! I don't even know what they are! How come you can see them Harry but the rest of us can't? Oh, I wish that I could've gotten a description of them from you. It would've made researching them so much easier!"

After arriving at Hogsmeade their small group got separated as Ginny and Luna were forced to follow after Hagrid and the rest of the first year students. And Harry, Ron, and Hermione were forced to follow the older students. As seconds years they were no longer required to ride the boats. Instead they were to ride in carriages up to the castle. The carriages were normal…but the horses that were pulling them were anything but. They were hairless and so skinny that Harry could count each rib along their sides. And each had a set of large wings on their backs. But what was truly remarkable about the creatures, was that Harry was apparently the only one who could see them.

He and Hermione had almost gotten into a full blown argument over their very existence. In the end he grabbed her by the hand and forced her to touch the apparently invisible animal. That ended their argument, but also had the unintentional consequence of starting Hermione up on her newest tirade.

"Or you could just ask Hagrid." Harry countered, drawing Hermione up short. "He takes care of all the animals around Hogwarts if I'm not mistaken. If anyone were to know what those creatures were, it would be him."

Hermione looked at him, blushed, and then looked away while mumbling, "I would've thought of that."

Hearing the doors open, Harry turned with the rest of the Hall and watched as McGonagall marched in with a trail of first year students behind her. Ginny and Luna were standing side by side as they walked down the hall. Catching their eyes, Harry gave them an encouraging nod. Which made Ginny duck her head and Luna smile.

Once the small group of first years reached the front of the hall, McGonagall produced a large scroll from within her robes and began reading off names. Harry pretty much tuned out everything as his attention was focused solely on Ginny and Luna. It would be really easy to look after the both of them _if_ they were both in Gryffindor. But something told him that while Ginny would more than likely end up in the same house as him, Luna was destined for another.

"Luna Lovegood."

Snapping to attention, he watched as Luna skipped up to the stool and sat down facing the student body. The hat was still a full inch off of her head when it shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

With a smile, Luna hopped off the stool, set the hat down, and skipped over to her new house. Harry had to hold in his anger as he watched the members of Luna's new house clear a spot for her at the table, and then leave quite a fair amount of distance between themselves and her. On the other hand…this could prove to be quite useful. If her house abandoned her…making a connection with her would be a lot easier.

Turning back to the sorting, he watched as the rest of the students were sorted into their house until only one small redhead girl remained standing at the front.

"Ginny Weasley."

Walking up to the stool Ginny turned and sat down allowing McGonagall to place the hat on her head. Unlike Luna however, the hat didn't immediately say which house she would be in. Instead it merely fidgeted atop her head for a few moments. Harry could just barely make out that Ginny's lips were moving silently as she talked to the hat. "Very well, better be…Gryffindor!"

All of Gryffindor jumped up and started cheering, with Fred and George actually going so far as to do a little dance, as Ginny took off the hat and sprinted over towards them. Percy stood and offered his sister the seat next to him, but Ginny just ran right past him and dropped down into the empty spot right next to Harry.

Ron frowned at Ginny while Fred and George both gave Harry knowing looks. ' _Wonderful…overprotective brothers and a jealous brother. Why can't things ever be easy?'_

A loud clap from the front of the Great Hall brought everyone's attention back around. Dumbledore was standing with his arms spread wide and a grandfatherly smile plastered across his face. "Welcome to Hogwarts! I have only a few announcements before we begin the sorting. First, is that our caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to once again remind everyone that certain joke products or anything that creates a lasting mess in the hallways are banned. Second, the Forbidden Forest is still forbidden. And lastly, to our returning students, I am pleased to say that the mess last year that revolved around the third floor has been cleared up and the corridor is no longer out of bounds.

"I would also like to take the time to introduce you to our new Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart!" Lockhart took a second to bow and smile, much to the appreciation of the female students. "Yes yes, we all appreciate Professor Lockhart's taking of this position. And I know that he has much to teach you all. Now, Professor McGonagall, if you would. Now, with that out of the way. May the feast, begin."

And just like the previous year, just about every type of food imaginable appeared to the amazement of the first year students. Predictably, Rob immediately dove in to the nearest serving tray. "I see his manners aren't any better here at school." Ginny sighed as she filled her own plate. "Please tell me that he at least chews with his…oh. Never mind."

Trying his best to ignore his friends eating, Harry glanced out of the corner of his eye towards the head table. Lockhart was trying, and failing, to engage Sprout in some sort of conversation. Snape was ignoring everyone. Dumbledore was just sitting there with a serene smile on his face. McGonagall was delicately picking at her food. And the rest of the professors were all chatting amongst themselves.

To Harry's surprise, he had yet feel either Dumbledore or Snape trying to get into his head. ' _Amazing restraint. Last year I think they were trying at least once a meal and – ah…there it is. Nice to see you're not giving up Snape.'_

Deciding to have a little fun with the grease ball, Harry turned in his seat just enough so he could catch Snape's eye. Once he did, he calmly winked at the man before sending a slight 'push' against Snape's mind. The look of furry that crossed Snape's face was absolutely priceless.

Smirking at the small victory, Harry turned back to his food and continued eating while everyone chatted around him.

* * *

Sitting at her desk within her London office, Nox stared absentmindedly out the window at the vast city below. ' _Another Force sensitive. Already highly attuned to the Force. And Seer to boot.'_

A true seer could turn the tide of any war effort in an instant. But they were also dangerous. And if a group of them gathered together, the results could be quite self-destructive. The Jedi Convenient was evidence enough of that. But this girl…if she truly was as gifted as her son thought, then they could ill afford to lose her to any outside influences. ' _It appears that my son now has two girls to keep an eye on this year. But if what she said is to be believed…that might be easier than either of us ever imagined.'_

Her son had written down every word that this Luna had said. ' _Six faces surround my son…one will 'sit on his lap' and the others will support him. And this Luna, Hermione, and Ginny are amongst those six. Could Susan and Daphne be amongst that number as well? If so…then who is number six? It's a shame the girl couldn't give any physical characteristics.'_

Hearing a soft hoot, Nox turned back around in her chair. "Yes Hedwig, I'm working on it." She said to Harry's familiar. Her son's owl was currently sitting on the perch she'd placed in her office for her and was busy cleaning her wings.

Pulling out a pen and paper, Nox wrote back to her son. A true seer was a rare a precious commodity. And she'd be damned if she'd let this one slip away from them or worse…into someone else's hands.

* * *

Walking into his first potions class of the new school year, Harry grabbed a work station near the back of the classroom and began unloading his potions kit with Ron setting up his own equipment on his right and Hermione on his left. The three of them barely had time to sit down in their seats before the door burst open and Snape marched in with his usual dramatic flair.

"This is second year potions." Snape said acidly. "I must admit that I am impressed that most of you dunderheads even managed to pass last year. But do not think that this year will be as easy. Now that you have the foundation down, or at least some of you do, we will begin exploring more complicated potions. Therefore, I will not tolerate any foolishness in this class. Am I understood?"

"Yes Professor Snape." The class responded.

"Good." Turning back to the board, Snape flicked his wand at it. "Today we will be brewing Swelling Solution. The main active ingredient in this potion is puffer-fish eyes. Which upon contact with the skin can and will cause sever inflation. Add a milliliter too much and your potion will be lethal. Add more than an a few milliliters too much and your potion will become quite explosive. As I'm sure many of you are about to find out. And if you do not add enough, then your potion will be completely useless. Directions are on the board. Get on it. Now."

Going over to the supply cabinet, Harry began gathering the ingredients he needed for the day. While there he was roughly shoulder checked by Daphne. "Watch yourself Potter."

That was all the warning Harry needed. Someone, more than likely a certain blond ferret, was planning on doing something to him during the class.

Grabbing everything he needed, he made his way back to his desk and started preparing his potion. When it came time to add the fish eyes, Harry put on his dragon hide gloves and made sure that neither the eye, nor any of the fluid touched his bare skin.

After he'd finished with the eye, he stirred the pot as directed and then took off his gloves to give his potion time to boil. It was right after his gloves hit the table that he felt a pulse in the Force. His hand move quickly across the top of his potion and impacted something soft. And slimy. And painful.

Grabbing his wrist, Harry gritted his teeth in pain as he watched his hand begin to swell up. ' _Damn it! Bastard tried to throw an extra eye in my potion!'_

"Professor!" Hermione screamed as she watched in horror as Harry's hand nearly doubled in size.

Snape was there in an instant. With a flick of his wand his hand stopped swelling. But the pain had not receded in the slightest. ' _A stasis spell only…Morgana's tits this bloody hurts!'_

"I told you not to let the eye or the liquid touch your skin Potter." Snape growled. "After last year I had hoped that you inherited some of your mother's intellect. But apparently you are just as bone headed and arrogant as you father."

"Someone tried to banish an extra eye into my potion Professor." Harry gritted out. "It was either knock it aside, or let my potion blow up."

Snape stared at him with utter contempt and Harry winced as he felt his mental shield get hit with a proverbial battering ram. ' _Son of a…he knows pain weakens mental barriers so he's trying to get in while I'm like this…'_

"Unlikely Potter." Snape shook his head. "Unless you are trying to say that one of your 'friends' tried to sabotage your potion?"

"No sir. Someone tried to banish an extra eye into my cauldron-"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for lying Potter." Snape sneered, before pulling out his wand and vanishing the contents of Harry's cauldron. "As you are in no condition to finish your potion you will receive a zero for the day."

"But Professor-"

"Quite Granger." Snape snapped at Hermione. "Now Potter, if you feel you can stop making up stories, was it your own ineptitude that caused you to touch a puffer-fish eye. Or are you trying to say that Weasley or Granger tried to sabotage your potion?"

The assault on his mental shields continued through all of Snape's speech. ' _Son of a…he's trying to make me off balance so my shields are weaker. Not going to happen grease ball.'_

Closing his eyes, Harry drew on the Force and tried to heal his hand. But Snape's constant battering against his mind, and the pain in his hand, was making it next to impossible to focus on healing. "It was my fault Professor." Harry gritted out painfully as his hand continued to throb despite his efforts. "I accidently touched an eye without gloves. May I be excused to see Madam Pomfrey? Please?"

The anger coursing through Snape was nearly suffocating. "Fine." He growled as the attacks on Harry's mind ceased. "You're excused for the day. Now get out."

"Yes Professor." Harry growled.

When he made to grab his bag, Ron stopped him saying that he would take care of it for Harry. ' _One day grease ball…Dumbledore won't be around to protect you.'_ Harry thought as he walked out of the potions classroom. ' _And when that day comes…I'll be waiting for you with a wand in one hand and lightsaber in the other.'_

* * *

Despite its rocky start with the potions mishap, the rest of the first week of classes went by without incident. Madam Pomfrey had been able to heal his hand in about ten seconds. Mostly due to the fact that without Snape constantly battering on his mind, Harry had been able to concentrate enough to heal the worst of it on his way to the hospital wing.

Now that it was Friday, the second year Gryffindor's were heading for the one class that Harry had been most curious about. Defense against the Dark Arts.

Walking into the defense classroom, Harry had to close his eyes and count backwards from ten. The entire room was covered with paintings of Lockhart. Even though Quirrell was a lousy teacher, and a host for Voldemort, he at least had made an effort to teach them something.

"Come on!" Hermione gushed heading for the front of the classroom. "What do you think he's going to show us today?"

"His favorite hair care product." Ron mumbled under his breath.

"Ronald!" Hermione gasped as Harry took his seat. "Be nice! He's our professor!"

Ron snorted, which of course was the wrong thing to do as Hermione began laying into him prompting Harry to glance around the class. The only upside to this class at the moment was the fact that they were paired up with the Slytherins. Which meant that Daphne was in the class with him.

Twisting in his seat, he turned just enough to catch Daphne's eye. His fellow apprentice merely smirked at his predicament of being stuck with the two bickering friends before turning her attention to the front of the class.

Turning forward, a hush fell over the entire class as the door to the teacher's office opened and Lockhart strode out. Striking a dramatic pose, Lockhart puffed out his chest. "Allow me to introduce you to your new Defense against the Dark Arts Professor. Me." Taking his time walking down the stairs leading from his office, Lockhart continued his self-introduction. "Gilderoy Lockhart. Winner of the Order of Merlin, Third Class. Slayer of monsters. Conqueror of evil doers everywhere. Wooer of damsels in distress. And three time winner of Witches Weekly most charming smile award."

Most of the girls in the class visibly swooned as Lockhart smiled at them. Harry wanted to bang his head against his desk. They'd had only two encounters and probably less than five minutes of interactions with him and Harry already hated him.

"But that is enough of my yammering for the moment. After all, I didn't get rid of a band of banshee's by smiling at them." Lockhart laughed, drawing a few odd chuckles from the crowd and more than one swoon. "So first, a small test of your knowledge. Now Harry my boy, be a good lad and come up here and help me pass out these tests will you? There's a good chap. Just make sure you hand them out facing down. No unfair advantages in this class."

He actually had to bite his lip to prevent himself from telling Lockhart exactly where he could shove the tests as he got up. After handing them all out, he sat down and as one the class flipped their tests over. Reading the first question, Harry let his quill drop to his desk. ' _What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color? You've got to be kidding me.'_

Scanning down the rest of the test, which just so happened to be two pages, he saw that each and every question was about Lockhart. There wasn't one question even remotely related to defense. Next to him Hermione was furiously writing away and on the other side of her Ron was looking just as confused as Harry felt. He could even feel Daphne's annoyance from the opposite side of the classroom. ' _Maybe I'll win this bet with Hermione sooner than I thought.'_

Not even really caring about what he was writing down, Harry started answering the questions on the 'test'. "Time's up!" Lockhart announced cheerfully as Harry wrote down his answer to the last question. "Please pass them to the center aisle. I'll grade them after class and next session we will discuss your answers."

After collecting all of the tests, Lockhart made his way to his desk at the front of the class. "Now, as I said this is Defense against the Dark Arts. A subject that I take very seriously." He said, turning back towards them with a flourish. "This subject has saved my life countless times. For more details read my latest works. But I will not be taking it easy on you this year."

From underneath his desk he pulled out what looked like a bird cage that was covered with a blue cloth. Harry could sense dozens of small, highly agitated, and curious life forces coming from underneath the cloth. "The world is a dangerous place as I, more than most, know all too well. It is my responsibility to prepare all of you for what lies ahead. Now be warned…some of you might very well be facing your greatest fears right here in this very room." Drawing his wand, Lockhart poked at the cage, causing it to rumble and making whatever was inside even more agitated. "Behold! Today's lesson on the dangers of the world!"

With a flare of showmanship, Lockhart quickly pulled off the cloth to reveal – "Cornish pixies?" Dean Thomas laughed, as well as half of the class.

"Freshly caught Cornish pixies." Lockhart smiled, then frowned slightly as he was obviously not getting the reaction he wanted. "Do not be fooled by their small stature. They are devilish little creatures that like to wreak havoc on anyone. And they are wickedly smart…let's see what you make of them!"

What happened next was predictable. Just about every student in the class got up from their seats and started screaming or ducking underneath their desks as the pixies flew out of their cage and proceeded to cause as much mayhem as possible. Harry however, remained perfectly still in his seat. One of his mother's assignments over the summer was to have the three of them study different magical creatures. And from what he'd learned, pixies were very excitable creatures. And they tended to target fast moving objects or sudden loud noises. Hence why their language was so high pitched and why they were so fast. The only other person to remain at least somewhat calm was Daphne. Although he sensed that the moment Lockhart had opened the cage, she'd grabbed her friend Tracey and made a beeline out of the room.

Most of the students who hadn't managed to escape the room were resorting to using their text books to try and fight off the pixies. Several students were being picked up and placed up into the rafters by the pixies. More than one student had already lost their bags to the pixies, then set upon them like a pack of vultures tearing them apart. Harry nearly lost it though when Lockhart tried to cast some sort of spell, only to have his wand snatched from his hand and then thrown out a window by a pair of pixies.

After a few minutes of pandemonium, Harry drew his wand with a sigh. By then Lockhart was just outside his office and was locked in a tug of war match with a set of pixies that were trying to make off with one of his many portraits. Eventually losing the battle, Lockhart turned to the frantic class. "Well…just round them all up and that will conclude our lesson for the day!" He shouted before diving into his office and slamming the door shut.

"What do we do now?" Ron asked breathlessly as he frantically tried to bat away a pair of pixies with his text book.

Shaking his head, Harry pointed his wand towards the ceiling. _"Immobulus!"_

A blue light shot out from the tip of his wand before sending a shock wave through the classroom and freezing every pixie in place. Then, just because he was feeling more than a little vindictive, he used the Force to discreetly open the door to Lockhart's office before banishing the frozen pixies towards the now open door. Right as they breached his office, Harry cancelled the freezing charm and pulled the door to Lockhart's office shut. The sudden high-pitched squeals that started coming from the office were extremely satisfying.

"Well then," he said as Lockhart started pounding on his office door from the other side. "I think that concludes class for the day."

"Bloody hell Harry!" Ron gasped as he slowly worked his way out from under his desk. "That was bloody brilliant!"

Hermione however, looked more than a little put out. "Don't worry Hermione." Harry said as he worked on levitating his fellow classmates down from whatever high place the pixies had placed them. Lavender Brown actually hugged him after he helped her down before running off to her friend Parvati. "I'm sure next time he screws up, you'll be quicker on the draw to fix it."

Hermione frowned, then winced as Lockhart pounded once more on his door. "Shouldn't we well…shouldn't we help him?"

"Why?" Ron asked packing his books up. "Classes are done for the day!"

"And besides Hermione." Harry smirked. "He's our defense teacher. If a second year students can solve the issue of mischievous pixies…then he should be able to as well. After all, look at everything he's done in his books. This should be a breeze for him."

* * *

Standing with Remus and Aela, Nox stared out at the hundreds of politicians, military personnel, and business men and women who'd come to the air field for her companies tech exposition. The day had already progressed more than satisfactory to Nox's standards. Everyone in attendance was left in awe after a demonstration of her company's new fusion reactor, which was an upgrade of her company's previous power cells. The new navigation systems was practically drooled over by the airline executives. And the upgrades to the blaster cannons was definitely a hit with the military personnel. And there was also the new metal treatment, which was partially magical, that made metal just about able to withstand any temperature variance. But what they were about to show off next would cement Nox Industries place within the world. ' _And give the leaders of the world just enough robe to hang themselves with.'_

The last portion of the exposition required everyone to be outside on the air field's runway. So a large set of bleachers had been set up for the spectators with a stage for Nox and her associates in front and off to the side. And off to one side, covered in a large white cloth, was the day's 'main attraction'.

Stepping up to the microphone, Nox cleared her throat. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. On behalf of Nox Industries I hope that you have all enjoyed the day so far. And before we go any further, no General Smith you may not bring the blaster cannon home with you. Mostly because I'm sure your wife wouldn't appreciate the competition." The crowd laughed at her joke for a second before she continued. "Now you have all seen our new fusion reactor which will soon make all of our previous power cells obsolete. Our new blaster cannons are smaller and more versatile than ever before. Our new navigation software will make navigating easier than ever before. And I know that many will find uses for our new metal treatment process. Separately…each of these innovations are incredible. But what you are here to see today is the fruit of years of research and development that combines each of these incredible achievements into one world changing achievement."

With a slight nod, several workers gathered around the sheet and prepared to unveil her company's greatest achievement. "Ladies and gentlemen…I give you the F1-Alpha Fighter Interceptor, code name Blackwing!"

With a single pull, the crew unveiled the fighter to the general public for the first time. Just about everyone shot up as they gawked at the marvel. The fighter looked like one solid piece of curved metal as the wings and cockpit were all even with one another. There was a single large jet engine just behind the cockpit with two smaller engines on either side. And four missiles lined the underside of each wing. (A/N*1)

"Like the harrier jet ladies and gentlemen," Nox continued once the excitement had died down, "the Blackwing is capable of a pure vertical takeoff. It is also capable of carrying eight air to surface or air to air missiles under the wings. The drop hatch underneath the cockpit has the space for two bunker-busters missiles. And instead the normal shell loaded guns, the Blackwing is outfitted with two blaster cannons on either side of the cockpit near the base of the wings. It is capable of reaching speeds exceeding Mach 4." Nox smirked as everyone began whispering excitedly once more, and she noticed more than one politician was currently on his or her cell phone. "But actions speak louder than words. So let me introduce you to our pilot for the day, my own COO of Nox Industries, Aela Wolf!"

Stepping out from behind the stage in a full flight suit, Aela waved to the crowd before putting on her helmet and climbing into the ship. Once the cockpit was sealed, the ship roared to life and shot up vertically before speeding off with hardly a moment's notice. "If I may direct your attention to the screen on my left," she said motioning to the projection that was showing a camera view of Aela inside the ship, what she was seeing, and the technical readouts from within the ship. "As you can see she is now traveling at Mach 2 within mere moments of taking off. But the true prowess of this ship ladies and gentlemen…is something no one will expect."

On the screen, Aela pulled up on her control stick and the Blackwing roared up into the clouds. On the screen everyone watched as Aela's altitude continued to climb. Everyone started talking excitedly as she passed beyond the troposphere and into the stratosphere. But when she passed 50km and into the mesosphere the audience went completely silent. After breaching 85km without slowly everyone started talking again. And all hell verbally broke loose once she'd passed beyond the Karman line and entered the thermosphere.

"That's right ladies and gentlemen." Nox smirked as everyone stared completely dumbfounded at the view screens. "The Blackwing is the first fighter-interceptor that is capable of traveling into space and back again without issue."

To prove her point, on the screen Aela tilted the aircraft back down and started descending back into Earth's atmosphere. Within thirty minutes Aela was back over the airfield and setting the blackwing down in a pure vertical landing. Once down, the cockpit opened with a hiss and Aela stood up and waved to the crowd. "Now then ladies and gentlemen." Nox said turning back to the stunned crowd. "Who wants one?"

* * *

Taking another bite of his toast, Harry turned the page of the muggle newspaper and smiled. Setting his paper aside, Harry scooped up some eggs and placed them onto his plate. One good thing about being an early riser was that he usually had the Great Hall to himself and a few others. Especially on a Saturday when everyone want to sleep in. Apparently his mother's company had completely blown the populace away with its tech expo a few days prior. Several world governments were already trying to throw money at his mother to try and buy the companies new fighter craft. ' _Just as mother predicted. I just wish that she'd been at least somewhat off on her prediction of Hogwarts.'_

Digging into his eggs, Harry thought back on the first month of classes. Just as his mother had predicted, he could honestly say that only three of his classes were actually worth anything at all. Transfiguration, Herbology and Charms. Defense was a complete and utter joke. They hadn't actually learned how to cast a single spell in the class. Every day was just a recap of Lockhart's adventures and a verbal overview of the spells he supposedly used. But to date he had yet to perform any magic before them, nor had he had them practice. And to top it all off, Lockhart kept trying to get Harry alone so that they could discuss Harry's 'mismanagement' of his fame. Pathetic.

History of Magic was another joke, just like last year. Only this time, Harry didn't even pretend to take notes. He simply pulled out a different text and began reading. Hermione tried to give him grief for not paying attention and saying that she wasn't going to give him her notes to look over. But after they'd both received the same perfect score on the first test she stopped.

Potions was…interesting to say the least. Harry could see the importance of the subject and there were times when he actually did learn something. But Snape was a useless teacher. Putting instructions that were incredibly vague and difficult to understand did not equate to adequate teaching. The only good thing about the class was that it kept Harry on his toes. At least twice a class he had to react to some form of sabotage to his potions. A couple of which could've been quite volatile. He also had to be subtle about it too. Any overt reactions from him would instantly lose him house point's curtesy of Snape. So in a twisted sort of way, he guessed he was learning something worthwhile in potions.

But perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the year had been that Harry had yet to find the map that Sirius and Remus helped his father create. Both men had given him an incredibly accurate description of the map and how to activate it. But so far he hadn't been able to find anything even remotely close to it. He'd even go so far as to on purposely get detention so that he could scour Filch's office. But he hadn't had any luck.

Feeling a failure presence approaching, Harry looked up in time just to see Hermione walk into the nearly empty Great Hall. As she approached him, he could feel the unease and mild anger rolling off of her. Which became even more pronounced as she sat down across from him and glared at the table top. "Books aren't always factual."

Smiling, Harry folded up his paper and set it down. "What was that Hermione?"

Hermione glared at him. "Books. Are. Not. Always. Factual." She gritted out through clenched teeth.

"There. Now was that so hard to admit?" Harry laughed before pushing the paper towards Hermione. "Here. Maybe this will make you feel better."

Frowning, Hermione picked up the paper and began reading. By the time she was half way down the page her eyes were about twice their normal size and her eyebrows where nearly to her hair line. "Harry! Do you know what this…holy…Merlin's beard Harry! This is incredible and…and you knew didn't you?"

"Of course I knew." Harry chuckled as Hermione stared at him in open mouth shock. "My mother owns the company and heads up most of the technological advances."

"Why didn't you say anything!?"  
"It didn't come up." Harry answered simply pulling out another book and opening it.

Hermione looked like she wanted to continue arguing, but apparently thought better of it as she huffed and started to grab some toast.

Feeling another failure presence approaching, Harry looked out of the corner of his eye at the entrance to the Great Hall. A second later Luna skipped into the hall. "Good morning Harry." Luna said plopping down onto the bench next to him. "And you as well Hermione. Are you trying to sit on Harry's lap today or can I?"

Harry laughed as Hermione's face turned completely beat red. "No! And no! And shouldn't you be sitting at your own table?"

"Is there a rule against sitting at another table? I must've missed that. Oh well." Luna shrugged, taking a piece of toast off of Harry's plate and taking a large bite out of it before setting it back.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. No doubt she just realized that there was in fact no rule about which table you sat at. It was just that most people tended to sit with their own houses. "Luna," Harry said pouring a glass of pumpkin juice before passing over to her. "Where are your shoes?"

Hermione frowned, before ducking underneath the table. "Luna!" She shouted. "You're barefoot! Where are your shoes?"

Luna just shrugged before drinking the juice Harry had offered her. "I'm sure it was the nargales. It isn't the first time something has disappeared from my trunk since I got here. My dorm room must be infested with them. They usually turn up eventually. Why, last week all of my unmentionables disappeared for two days. I found them on top of the tallest bookshelf in the common room. So I'm sure my shoes will turn up again once the nargales are done with them."

"Luna…I don't think it's these…nargales that are taking your things." Hermione grimaced at the word 'nargales'. "You should really tell a Prefect."

"I did warn the Ravenclaw Prefect that nargales were taking students clothes." Luna shrugged. "But she seemed much more interested in kissing her friend. I wonder what that feels like. Harry, can we practice even if I don't sit on your lap?"

Harry just barely kept himself from coughing up his pumpkin juice. Every time he thought he had Luna figured out she somehow managed to surprise him.

He was saved from answering as Ginny choose that moment to come into the Great Hall and plop down on the seat next to Harry. As the redhead greeted everyone, Harry couldn't help but notice how her hair was slightly more frazzled today. ' _So she's still going at it. I must say…it's amazing that no one has caught on to her yet.'_

"Did you have a nice flight Ginny?" Luna asked, making Ginny freeze. "I've heard that flying does wonders for chasing wrackspurts away. Mostly because they can't keep up with a broom. Next time you sneak out do you think you could bring me along as well? I'd like to test my theory."

Ginny was completely pale by the time Luna stopped talking. "Ginny!" Hermione breathed looking around. "Are you sneaking out and riding the schools brooms? You can't do that! And how long have you been doing this?"

"Technically there is no rule against riding school brooms. Just against first years having a broom at school." Harry shrugged. "And seeing as how she's been doing it about two or three times a week since the beginning of the school year. I would say that she's become pretty adapt at not being caught."

Hermione's jaw started opening and closing, but no noise was coming out. "How did you know?" Ginny asked.

Harry winced as he felt the fear pouring out from her. She was supposed to trust him. Not fear him. "Your hair." He answered to her surprise. "It's always a little messier whenever you go out flying. Plus I woke up one morning extremely early and just so happened to spot you flying around the pitch."

Ginny's fear evaporated, and was replaced with a warm feeling of joy. "You…you noticed something so small?" She breathed flushing slightly before turning her shoulder on his and trying to busy herself with breakfast.

"Yes I did." Harry answered forcing Ginny into an even deeper shade of red. "So…how are your two's classes going so far?"

Harry regretted the question just about as soon as he asked it. Ginny apparently had no qualms what so ever about expressing her opinion on Lockhart and Snape. Harry was actually fairly impressed that someone their age had such an extensive vocabulary. Luna wasn't shy either. Although her opinions tended to fall along the line of Snape and Lockhart being infested with nargales or wrackspurts.

As the quartet talked, other students began filling in for breakfast. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Daphne walk in with Tracey right beside her. A subtle nod between the two of them was all that was needed. Daphne had informed both Susan and himself that her house elf had managed to find a suitable place for them to train. A room the elves apparently called the 'Come-and-go-room'. Whatever that meant. And while they wouldn't be using the room today, just knowing that it existed was enough to spur his plans along.

Susan came in shortly after, and once again the two apprentices shared a quick nod before ignoring one another. Today was the day that they would begin forming their own circle. Provided everything went according to plan of course.

Breakfast was just about finished by the time Ron stumbled into the Great Hall. From the look, and smell, of things. Ron had just rolled out of bed and walked down. "Bloody hell," Ron mumbled, filling his plate with about two servings of everything on the table. "How long have you all been down here?"

"Since the Hall opened." Harry shrugged.

"Bloody mental…the lot of you." Ron mumbled still apparently half asleep.

Finishing off his first plate, Ron began refilling it for round two. "So does anyone have anything planned for today?" Harry asked as casually as he could.

"The library." Hermione answered almost immediately, drawing another mumbled 'mental' from Ron.

"Not sure." Ginny shrugged, as did Luna. "Why?"

"Well…seeing as how we aren't learning anything in Defense," Hermione sniffed angrily at that, "I thought that maybe we could have an impromptu study session."

Hermione eyes lit up, he could feel Ginny's excitement, and Luna was just well…Luna. The only one who was obviously not onboard with the idea was Ron. "Really Harry?" Ron groaned. "It's Saturday! We've had classes all week. And now that we don't you want to do more? Bloody mental."

"Language Ron." Hermione scolded Ron. "And I think that it's a great idea! You've pretty much read all of the defense text books…and you said that Madam Bones gave you an Aurors hand book!"

Ginny and Luna both nodded along with Hermione. Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but realizing he was outnumber he grumpily nodded as well. "Great," Harry said standing from his seat. "Well then, no time like the present."

"But I'm not done eating!" Ron complained around a mouthful of food.

"You've had two plates already Ron." Ginny countered, giving her brother a look that said he'd better move or he'd be a dead man. "Now get up."

Ron, much to his credit, did what his sister demanded and stuffed the last of his breakfast into his mouth before getting up and following Harry and the girls out of the Hall. As he walked out, he spared both Susan and Daphne one last meaningful look. It was time.

"So where should we go?" Hermione asked as they walked up the stairs. "I'm sure that if we ask Professor McGonagall about a space that she would-"  
"No need." Harry answered quickly, leading them up the stairs. "I know a perfect place for us." ' _At least it sounds perfect. But if this is some joke, then Daphne is going to pay.'_

Going leading them all the way up to the seventh floor corridor, Harry turned left off the staircase and began looking for the odd painting that Daphne had described to him. ' _And here we are. Barnabas the Barmy…and he's trying to teach trolls how to dance…unbelievable. I honestly thought Daphne was pulling the other one when she told me that.'_

"So…what are we doing up here Harry?" Hermione asked looking around curiously as he continued on down the hall towards the unused room that Daphne had told him about. "There are no classrooms in use up here."

"Did you bring us up here to snog Harry? I hear it is quite fun…but I'm afraid I'm far too young. Daddy said no snogging till third year."

Harry tripped over his own feet and just barely managed to right himself before going face first into the floor. Ginny had gone completely red from hairline to neck. Ron was blinking dumbly. And Hermione was doing a fairly accurate impression of a fish out of water. And Luna…she was just standing there looking, and feeling, completely innocent. ' _Force…I'm never going to get use to this girl.'_

"Luna!"

"What?" Luna asked turning towards Hermione. "Did I say something wrong? That's all that the seventh year Ravenclaw boys seem interested in talking about."

Shaking his head, Harry opened the door to the unused room that Daphne had told him about. The room was sparsely furnished saved for a couple of couches, a waste bin near the door and two full sized teachers' desks. "Oooh! See! I wasn't lying." Luna said skipping over to the couch and grabbing something before throwing it at Harry.

Without even looking, Harry caught whatever cloth it was she'd just thrown at him. When he did look though…he immediately dropped them. "Blimey! Those are girl's knickers!" Ron gasped backing away as if they were on fire.

"Boys." Ginny laughed picking up the knickers and throwing them into the waste bin near the door. "I guess that answers the question about what this room is used for then."

Hermione looked completely scandalized. "Merlin's beard…this is a school!"

"A school full of teenagers." Luna countered. "Daddy's already told me all about the fun teenagers can have. I can't wait till I'm a teenager too so I can have fun as well."

"Right." Harry coughed awkwardly. "Well then…I guess now we wait."

"Wait? For what?" Ron asked looking around.

"Not for what." Luna answered with a faraway look in her eye. "But who."

As soon as she said it, there was a soft knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, the door opened a crack and Susan stepped in followed closely by Hannah. "Hey Harry." Susan said, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. As far as they knew, Susan and Harry barely knew each other.

"Hey Susan. Any trouble finding the room?"

"No. The directions where quite accurate."

While Harry and Susan were casually chatting, everyone else was staring at the two of them in shock. Even Hannah. And she knew that Susan and Harry knew each other. Hermione was the first one to snap out of her shock. "Harry…how do you know Susan?"

"Are you really so surprised?" Susan asked looking around at everyone. "You saw us all together before first year. And it's well known that my aunt, Lord Black, and Madam Nox are political allies."

"Yeah but…but you two haven't said anything to one another all of last year!" Ron blurted out.

"No…they did." Hermione said biting her lip. "The letters…they were how you two talked last year!"

"That was fast." Hannah chuckled. "Susan actually had to tell me that one. And I was sitting next to her all year too!"

"Two more." Luna said suddenly, making everyone turn towards the door.

The door opened once again, and Daphne and Tracey walked in. Hermione blinked. Ginny gapped. Luna just tilted her head. And Ron went completely red faced. "Slytherins!" Ron hissed drawing his wand. "Harry they're-"

Ron's words were cut off when he suddenly found a wand an inch from his face. And it wasn't Daphne's or Tracey's. "Put your wand away Ron." Harry said evenly.

The tension in the room was so thick it could've been cut with a knife. "But Harry." Ron said keeping perfectly still. "They're the enemy."

"Voldemort is my enemy." Harry countered. "His Death Eater lackeys are my enemies. Slytherin's are not my enemies."

"But they supported him!"

"Not all of us." Daphne said, coming up and pushing Harry's arm down. "My parent's never supported him nor do we ever plan too."

Ron opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it as his response was obvious. "How do you know Harry?" Ginny asked as curiosity and jealousy rolled off of her.

"We've known each other since we were nine." Susan answered, much to the shock of everyone in the room except for Daphne and Harry. "After Lord Black returned to Britain with Madam Nox and Harry in tow, he request my aunts and Daphne's parent's presence. Our families formed an alliance. And then formalized it by having both myself and Daphne become Madam Nox's apprentices along with Harry."

"Wait…all of you are Madam Nox's magical apprentices!" Hermione gasped looking at the three of them. "That's impossible! You can never have more than one!"  
"Actually, only Daphne is my mother's magical apprentice." Harry answered. "And that was a stipulation of her father in order to get her out of a betrothal contract with one Draco Malfoy."

"Morgana Harry…I thought I told you never to mention that again." Daphne hissed, but without any real heat. "The fact that I was almost bound to that blond pounce of a ferret."

Off to the side of the room, Luna started laughing. "You may as well get used to it Ronald." Luna laughed twirling in a tight circle with a smile on her face. "Five of the six of us are here now. It will only be a matter of time before one of us ends up on Harry's lap. But either way, we will always be with him if he wants to soar."

' _Five of the six.'_ Harry thought looking around at the confused girls and equally confused Ron. ' _Could she mean Daphne and Susan? Or is it either Tracey or Hannah.'_

"My mother's been training us since we were nine Hermione." Harry added, sliding his wand back into its sheath. "In fact…you've already benefited from one of the things that she's taught us."

"Reading comprehension." Hermione stated, to which Harry nodded.

"And that, to borrow a muggle phrase, is quite literally the tip of the iceberg of what she's taught us." Daphne continued.

"But you have a choice to make." Harry said completely serious. "If you agree to this, the three of us will begin teaching the five of you what we can. But, we do this as a group and we work together. House rivalries have no place here. Also, what we're going to be teaching you is for you alone. No one else can know. No other students. And especially no professors. Understand?"

Ginny and Luna both quickly nodded, as did Tracey and Hannah. Ron however was still silently glaring at Daphne and Tracey. And Hermione looked like he'd just spit in her face. "What?! We have to tell the professors Harry! They need to know what we're doing and-"

"Did you know that Snape was a Death Eater in the war?" Harry asked quickly. "And that he didn't 'turn-spy' as it were until the very end of the war? And that to this day there is still no clear evidence about what information he gave out?"

"Also take into consideration that Snape is Draco's godfather." Daphne added. "And Lucius, despite his claims, is a Death Eater through and through. If Snape really did betray the Voldemort, then why did one of _his_ greatest supporters name him as his child's godfather?"

"But – but Dumbledore trusts him!" Hermione practically shouted.

"Good for him." Harry shrugged. "But I don't. And that fact that Dumbledore does apparently trust Snape, but won't tell anyone why, makes me not trust him."

"But he's Dumbledore!" Ron shouted. "He's the greatest wizard since Merlin Harry! He led the fight against Voldemort!"

"And that went over splendidly." Daphne snorted. "The war lasted for over a decade under Dumbledore's leadership. Nearly a quarter of wizarding Britain, not to mention dozens maybe even hundreds muggles, were killed by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. And in the end who was it that ended the war? Dumbledore? No. It was infant would could barely even walk. No offense Harry."

"But…but Harry we can't just not trust him! He's the Headmaster." Hermione pressed.

Inwardly, Harry cursed. This was not going as well as he'd hoped. Luna, Hannah, and Tracey were all onboard without any reservations. Ginny was with them as well, but he could feel stabs of jealousy and slight anger coming off of her whenever she looked at Susan or Daphne. Unfortunately, it appeared as if he hadn't broken Hermione of her love for authority yet. And Ron…his hatred of Slytherin was proving to be quite a pain.

Facing Hermione, Harry pulled out his last trump card. "Hermione, have you ever heard of a branch of magic called _legilimency?_ "

Hermione's brow furrowed and she shook her head. "No."

"Not surprising." Susan shrugged. "It's not a subject that's taught in school. But in essence, its mind reading. And both Snape and Dumbledore are masters of it."

"And they use it regularly on the all of the students here in Hogwarts." Daphne finished.

The color drained from Hermione's face, as did everyone else's in the room. "No…no they wouldn't." Hermione denied. "That…that would be such a breach of privacy. No…no Dumbledore wouldn't…"

"I felt him try and enter my mind during our sorting last year Hermione." Harry said softly. "He's tried a few other times since then as well. I'm not saying that he's a bad person. But his morals are…slightly skewed."

"Snape however is just a grease ball." Susan growled. "I feel him trying to enter my mind at least once every other week. If it was up to my aunt, his arse would be rotting in Azkaban. Unfortunately, it's just about impossible to charge someone for the use of _legilimency._ Especially seeing as how if you don't know how to defend against it, you'll never even know that it's happened."

Hermione's face paled even further. "You mean…they could've read my mind…and I wouldn't have even known?"

"Yes." Harry nodded. "But the first thing we are going to teach you all is how to defend your minds against any outside influences. If of course you agree to 'study' with us."

"I'm in." Ginny said without hesitation.

Luna was next. "As am I. With five here…I can't just leave you alone with Harry. Unless of course I'm with you."

"I'm not sure I want to know what she's talking about." Tracey said eyeing Luna wearily. "But if Daphne trusts you, then so will I."

"I'm in." Hannah nodded. "Maybe now I'll understand just how Susan gets all those perfect marks without studying."

Hermione bit her lip and wouldn't meet Harry's eyes. "You'll teach me how to defend my mind?"

"And then some."

"And we won't…be breaking too many rules…right?"

"Correct." ' _At least not yet.'_

Swallowing, Hermione nodded. "Alright…I'm in."

That left only Ron. Who started shifting his feet awkwardly as the six girls and Harry all turned to face him. Ron was almost radiating jealousy, anger…and sadness. "Ron," Harry said stepping forward. "To me, Daphne and Tracey are not Slytherins. They're my friends. Not all Slytherins are bad witches and wizards. And not all bad witches and wizards are Slytherins. Just look at Peter Pettigrew if you need any more evidence of that. You need to look past this. If you can't…then the door is right there."

Ron bit his lip and stayed silent. Harry could almost see the internal debate his friend was having. But if push came to shove…Harry would choose Daphne over Ron in a heartbeat. "Alright." Ron sighed. "I'll stick with you Harry."

"Good." It could've gone a lot better and he would have to keep a careful watch on Ron and Hermione for a time, but at least they had all agreed. "Now as I said, the first thing we're going to teach you is how to defend your minds. So take a seat because this is going to take a while."

* * *

Rolling out from her bed, Nox grabbed the robe that was draped over her end table and slid it over her nude form. The room wasn't one she used very often. It was adjacent to her office located in her secret factory that was being run by the werewolves. The only reason she'd even bothered to use the room last night was because she had thrown a party for her workers in celebration of receiving no less than ten government contracts and several partnership proposals regarding her new fighters.

Of course the partnership proposals were from rival companies that just wanted to sneak a peek at how the fighters were created before hightailing it and trying to make a version of their own. Which of course was completely impossible. Unless of course you had the aid of a large magical population.

Quite simply put, despite the large technological advances that'd occurred since her arrival ten years ago, Earths technology was simply not quite at the level needed to create her fighter. To counter the lack of technology, she used magic where necessary. Cooling charms and runes on the reactor and propulsion system. Cooling runes and unbreakable runes inlaid into the ship's outer shell. And transfiguration to alter the metal into a harder, but lighter weight, metal than any currently available. So no. She wasn't worried about the competition at all.

She also wasn't worried about anyone discovering what they'd done to the ship. Magically speaking. It would take a team of witches and wizards purposefully looking for the runes to even have a chance of spotting them. And while the fighter could be flown by a non-magical. In the hands of a magical pilot, the capabilities of the ship were increased ten-fold.

Hearing a slight moan coming from her bed, Nox smiled to herself. For the first time since Ashara died, her bed wasn't empty. Save for the few times that Harry had a nightmare and slept with her. Tonks was laid out beneath the sheets. Her body still quivering periodically from their last bout. ' _Didn't realize what it meant to have a Sith lover.'_ Nox mused. ' _In time she will learn.'_

Her heart still ached whenever she thought of her old apprentice and lover. But she knew that Ashara was now one with the Force and at peace. And Tonks…Tonks reminded her so much of Ashara. They had the same passion. Directly differently perhaps, but the same fire none the less.

Sparing her new lover one last glance, Nox walked out of her bedroom and into her private office. Taking a seat at her desk she held her hand in front of a solid section of the desk. With an audible snap, she disengaged the Force lock on the panel and opened the compartment. Inside was the dairy of Tom Riddle.

Placing the diary in the middle of the desk, she picked up a pen and began idly weaving it between her fingers. Every time she picked up the diary she could feel a compulsion trying to get her to write in it. To anyone else the compulsion would've worked. But Nox was an expert when it came to compulsions or possessions.

Opening the cover of the book, she placed her pen to the paper and wrote out a single word. _**'Hello.'**_

The ink sunk into the page, and as it did Nox could feel the diary pulling on her life-force through the Force. Slamming her shields in place, she cut off the pull. _**'Very insidious.'**_ She wrote. _**'First a compulsion to get the victim to write within you. And then once they do you begin feeding on their life-force. Genius.'**_

 _ **'Who are you?'**_

' _So it can talk back. Interesting.'_ _**'I'm your worst nightmare Tom.'**_ She wrote while using the Force to more deeply examine the artifact now that it had exposed itself. _**'Or do you prefer to go by the name Voldemort. I must say, and anagram is not the most impressive way of naming an individual.'**_

 _ **'Who the fuck are you!'**_

 _ **'Who am I is not important Tom. It is what I can do to you that is.'**_

 _ **'You can't do anything. I'm immortal you stupid fool.'**_

 _ **'Is that because of your horcrux's? And I mean that in the plural sense. As in more than one.'**_ Nox was mildly surprised when she felt a slight wave of shock and fear coming from the dairy. ' _That's all the confirmation that I needed.'_

 _ **'How do you know?!'**_

 _ **'Because I've already destroyed two of them Tom. This diary is number three. And I know where one more is located as well.'**_

 _ **'Let us not be hasty, whoever you are. I'm a fair man. And I can offer you much.'**_

Nox couldn't help herself and started laughing out loud in her office. ' _Always the same. They think they're invincible. And then when they're faced with the reality that they're not then they try to bargain.'_ _ **'As your servant I bet. Sorry. But no. I've been a servant before and I'll be one never again.'**_

 _ **'Not as a servant. As my equal. You might've shielded yourself from my diaries influence. But I know you're a woman of remarkable power. Side by side…we could conquer the world!'**_

 _ **'Tempting…but no. I don't need your help with that.'**_

The instant the words sunk into the page, Nox felt the diary redouble its efforts to try and ensnare her. _**'Why are you against me!?'**_

 _ **'Simple. You tried to kill my son. Almost succeeded too. That's not something that I can simply let go you understand. Not to mention…you simply piss me off. But…before I destroy you I'm going to offer you something.'**_

 _ **'What?'**_

 _ **'I'm offering you a choice, shard of Riddle. I can either destroy you painfully. Or I can destroy you peacefully. Answer my question and you will simply pass on. Deny me, and I will take what I want and then make your destruction last for an eternity. Or at least what feels like an eternity.'**_

 _ **'Why would I ever aid you?'**_

 _ **'Because you made a mistake when you made this diary Riddle. You poured too much of yourself into it and gave it sentience. Which means that it can perceive pain. And it also means that it retains memories of your true self. Memories that I wish to see.'**_

 _ **'…Go to hell. It's impossible to steal the memories imprinted into this dairy.'**_

 _ **'Do not be so sure of yourself Riddle.'**_ Placing her pen down, she double checked her mental barriers and placed her open hand against the pages of the diary. Just as she had with her son all those years ago, Nox opened herself fully to the Force and used the Force Walking Ritual to enter the consciousness of the diary.

Darkness surrounded her vision as she felt herself falling as if into a pensive. Vaguely she could feel Riddle's feeble soul shard trying to push her out. But she was able to almost causally push its influence aside.

As she fell, memories began rushing past her. Images of a boy being raised amongst dozens of children. Of the same boy stealing and hurting the others for teasing him. Of him learning of the magical world and going to Hogwarts. Class lessons. Interactions with students. Most of the memories were fractured and useless to her. That was until she came to a memory that was crystal clear. Obviously Riddle did not want her seeing this as she felt him desperately trying to force her out.

'- _Horcruxes professor. I ran across the word in one of the books in the library and was wondering if you could tell me about it. I mean…you're the best professor here. And the smartest. I'm sure you know something about them.'_

 _The older man looked troubled. 'I'm not sure what you are reading Tom. But his is dark stuff. Very dark. And very…unknown.'_

 _'Which is why I came to you professor.' The younger man smiled._

 _The older man winced again and seemed to be having an internal debate. 'A horcrux is an object with which a person conceals part of their soul that they sheared off.'_

 _'How would that work professor?'_

 _The old man took a long drink before answering. 'One splits their souls and hides part of it in an object Tom. By doing so, they are protected. Should their body be destroyed, their soul would still be anchored to this world. In other words…they cannot die.'_

 _The young man looked off into the distance. 'And how does one split his or her soul sir?'_

 _The old man sighed. 'You know the answer.'_

 _'Murder.'_

 _'Yes, in part. But there is more. A ritual must be done beforehand.'_

 _'A ritual? What ritual?'_

 _'No one truly knows Tom.' The old man shrugged. 'It's been said that the origin texts for this…ritual is hidden. But if one is dark enough it will emerge from the shadows. But that's just a myth. The text has proven to be just as elusive and sought after as the Death Hallows.'_

 _The young man nodded along. 'Purely academic sir. But could someone split their soul more than once? Say…maybe seven times. Seeing as how seven and three and the most magically significant numbers.'_

 _The old man went completely pale. 'Seven! Morgana's tits Tom! Isn't it bad enough to even think about splitting the soul once! To rip it into seven or even three pieces…Tom…this is all academic right?'_

 _The young man smiled. 'Of course sir. I was just curious is all.'_

 _'Good. Now never bring it up again!'_

The memory faded and was replaced by another. This time it was the same young man holding the very diary Nox was examining. Before the young man was the largest snake-like creature she had ever seen. ' _Kill.'_

The snake took off and slithered up a series of pipes before emerging into a bathroom. A young girl was standing in the bathroom, watching with terror in her eyes as the snake emerged. And she was wearing a Hogwarts uniform. Once the young man saw the girl, he smiled. ' _Kill.'_

The snake opened its eyes and the girl dropped dead on the spot. The young man stepped out of the passageway and placed the diary against the dead girl's chest. ' _Now we see if the text was right.'_

Pulling herself out of the diary, Nox fell back against the back rest of her chair. In those few minutes she had learned more about Voldemort and his Horcruxes then she ever thought possible. ' _He made seven of the things. And there is a supposedly dark text that explains this ritual in detail that Voldemort has. Interesting.'_ Unfortunately though, none of the memories she saw even hinted at an existence of a text. Another mystery to ponder.

Leaning forward again, she put her pen to paper. ' _ **Thank you for all of the wonderful information Tom. I'll be sure to tell your source what a treasure trove of knowledge you were before I kill him too.'**_

 _ **'You won't win bitch!'**_

 _ **'You utter fool. I already have.'**_ Pressing her hand to the diary once more, she channeled the Force into the curse object. She could hear the soul shard screaming in her mind just before she shattered it into oblivion.

"Nox? What are you doing?"

Standing in the doorway leading to the bedroom was Tonks, with nothing more the thin sheet from the bed wrapped around her. "Just taking care of a nuisance Tonks." Nox said pushing the diary aside. Now that it was destroyed it posed no threat.

"Is that…one of his horcruxes?"

"It was." She nodded standing and walking up to Tonks.

Before Tonks could do or say anything, Nox grinned wickedly and pulled the young woman in close and pressed her lips to hers. "Morgana's shaved cun – oh! How do you do that?" Tonk's gasped as their lips separated.

Laughing, Nox used the Force to send another ripple through the younger woman's hips. "Stay with me my little Nymph. And you will discover pleasures you never thought possible."

Grinning with lust, Tonks pulled her in close and together the two fell back into the bedroom. The burned out destroyed diary far from either's mind.

* * *

The first month of school had come and gone, and as was standard for the teachers of Hogwarts, they were all gathered in the Headmaster's office for their scheduled monthly meeting. "I know quite a fair share about plants my fine Lady Sprout. In fact, I've been told by many that I have a green finger. If you ever wish for me to guest lecture during one of your classes I will be more than happy to do so."

Closing his eyes, Dumbledore took a slow calming breath before opening them again. He had been, as the yanks would say, a dollar short and a day late in discovering the truth about Lockhart. When Lockhart had applied for the position he had been skeptical. After all, the man was well known and did not need to teach. But the Board of Governors had nearly fallen over themselves in pushing him to accept the man as the teacher despite another more qualified candidate. And after a month of reports from both his own staff and his Head Boy and Head Girl, he was utterly convinced that the man was a fraud. The only problem was, there was no way he could simply fire the man part way through the year and find a replacement. He and his staff would simply have to prevent him from doing any damage and then they would hire a competent professor next year.

Clearing his throat, he called a start to the meeting. "Our first month of classes are now at a close. Are there any pressing issues that any feel must be discussed amongst the staff?"

No one said anything. No one expect Lockhart that is. "Well, I must say Headmaster that the Potter boy has exceeded my expectations. The boy is an absolute genius."

"Potter? A genius? Unlikely." Severus scoffed, earning him a stern glare for McGonagall. "The boy can barely tie his shoes without his friends or his _mother_ holding his hand."

Lockhart didn't even appear to have heard Severus as he kept right on going. "Yes, quite the little genius indeed. In fact, I might just look into naming the young man as my Magical Apprentice! The two of us could go far together. And I'm sure he wouldn't turn down the honor of being the first Magical Apprentice in Britain in over a century."

"Your information is out of date Gilderoy." Minerva said shaking her head. "Young Daphne Greengrass has the honor. Although, no one is quite sure as to the identity of her Master. Her parents are keeping the matter quite close to their chests as it were."

Dumbledore however had a fairly good idea about just who Daphne's 'Master' was. Despite what many believed, occulmency barriers gave off a certain feel to them. A feeling that varied greatly pending on who instructed them. And Harry, Daphne, and Madam Nox all had the same feel to their mental defenses. As did Susan Bones.

Lockhart's face fell for a brief moment, before perking right back up again. "Well then…I'm still sure he wouldn't turn down the offer to become my Apprentice."

"Thank you for your opinion Lockhart." Dumbledore sighed. "Is there anyone else? No? Then we shall move onto the future."

Again Gilderoy cut in. "Yes. Headmaster I would like your permission to start up a Dueling Club."

"A fine idea Gilderoy." Flitwick responded looking fairly surprised. "I don't know why we ever did away with the club in the past. But I think it would be a fine idea to bring it back. I know that I learned a great deal from it."

Leaning back in his chair, Dumbledore idly scratched at his beard. It was a good idea. For more reasons than one. "A fine idea Lockhart. One that I will approve of. And I will talk to the Board and see to it that they approve the measure as well."

Gilderoy smiled brightly. "Wonderful! The students will be able to see me in action and see how it is truly done."

"Yes Gilderoy…I'm sure Flitwick would be happy to help officiate. Just as I know that Severus would be happy to be your demonstration partner."

Severus's head snapped around so fast that he was sure it was going to keep on turning "I would?" Dumbledore leveled his gaze at Severus. It was a look that he'd given his old friend before. "Of course I would Gilderoy. Just let me know when you wish to hold this…Dueling Club."

"Fantastic!" Gilderoy smiled as he stood. "Now, I'm afraid I must be off for the day. I have a very important floo call with my editor soon and cannot be late. Good day." With a slight bow Gilderoy turned and almost ran out of the office.

More than slightly relieved that Gilderoy, Dumbledore turned to the rest of his staff. "I believe that concludes our meeting for the month. Severus, if you wouldn't mind I wish to speak with you for a moment."

Waiting until they were alone, Dumbledore pulled out his wand and activated a small device on the edge of his desk. One surface it looked like any other little trinket that littered his office. But like all of the others, this served a specific purpose. The little device created a silencing bubble around his office and it destroyed any potential listening charms that might've been placed in his office.

"I assume there is a reason you are forcing me to work with that man Headmaster."

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded, trying very hard to ignore the contempt in Severus's voice. "You see, Lockhart has just handed us the perfect way of testing young Harry without having any suspicion pointed towards us."

Severus's eyebrow twitched. "Potter…of course."

Narrowing his eyes, he glared at his friend. "Your anger towards the boy is ill-placed Severus. Harry is not is father."

"And he is not Lily either." Severus shot back quickly. "That boy is a mixture of his father and that…woman who raised him. He is nothing like Lily. And he never will be."

"Perhaps…but the point remains Severus. Harry still has a part to play in this. You heard the prophecy, you know that Voldemort will not simply let him go or ignore him. Whether you like it or not, when Voldemort comes back Harry will be the figurehead for the fight against him."

"A figurehead that does not stand with you." Severus pointed out. "Have you received any word from your 'spy' as to how you can sway the boy?"

Sighing, Dumbledore took of his glasses and rubbed at his eyes. Tonks had indeed told him a great deal. Apparently over the summer Nox had treated Harry as little more than a house elf. The poor boy had been punished and worked to exhaustion. But instead of resenting his mother…the bond the between the two seemed to be stronger than ever according to Tonks. "She's told me a great deal Severus. Unfortunately, none of it can help us. But that is a problem for another time. At the moment, we can use this dueling club as a way to assess Harry's current skill."

Severus looked off to the side in thought. "I doubt it will be that simple Headmaster. The brat will most likely pair up with his friends, and that is _if_ he even decides to grace us with his presence."

"That is why I want you working with Lockhart on this Severus. You can ensure that he faces off against someone who will push him. Perhaps…someone that you've been personally training for years. Like your godson Draco for instance."

Severus's eyebrow's just about reached his hairline. "You want me to pit Draco against the brat?"

"Yes." He didn't want to, but it was necessary. He needed to know where the boy was at. And it wouldn't hurt that he would be able to assess where Draco was either. "Can you do it?"

The smirk that Severus gave him almost sent chills down Dumbledore's spin. "I can guarantee it Headmaster. Draco will be more than ready for this task."

As Severus left, Dumbledore had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. ' _Perhaps this wasn't the best idea…but it is still necessary.'_

 **A/N: Fighter plane based off of Stargates F-302 fighter plane. Google it as I can't get the links to work.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So just wanted to say a few things here. Firstly, thank you to everyone who has reviewed/favorite/alerted to this story! Your guy's support is really driving me to keep writing!**

 **Okay, next. This chapter is admittedly not my best but I wanted to keep things moving. Now before you guys read and before you send me any negative reviews about what happens in this chapter I want to say two things.**

 **Look up and read the title of the story again. Okay now move on.**

 **Ginny…Ginny is honestly one of my favorite characters. That is when she is not being portrayed as a bimbo/slut/manipulator/fangirl or the other stereo typical negative roles for her. That being said, this story will not be a HG pairing. My first outline did have them as the main pairing, but then I thought of another one that I would like to try. So while she won't be with Harry in this one, she will still be pretty prominent in the story. And her role within will be better defined later in this chapter.**

 **Okay, mini rant over. Hope that you all enjoy this chapter! Please review! I loved to hear from you guys!**

 **And lastly, a big thank you to Tellemicus Sundance and HowInMadHowie, who both gave me a couple of good ideas for this chapter. Thank you both so much!**

 **Chapter 12**

Three weeks after the formation of their little study group, the octet found themselves once more in their private study room up on the seventh floor. After their first initial meeting, it was decided that they would meet up every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening. The other nights of the week were reserved for Harry, Daphne and Susan.

While the others were sleeping at night, the three apprentices would make their way up to the seventh floor and use the room of requirement, which they discovered was the actual name of the room instead of the 'come-and-go-room'. The first time they had used the room had been a complete and utter shock. Harry had paced in front of the wall three times, thinking that he needed a room to train in. As he passed by for the third time, a door slowly formed within the wall. And within the room was an exact replica of their training room at Grimmuald Place.

Within the room, the three apprentices cut loose for the first time in over a month. And Harry quickly found himself looking forward to each night like a kid on Christmas Eve.

Of course the study sessions were not exactly what everyone had been expecting or hoping for. Instead of learning new or complicated spells, Harry had them meditating. As his mother had explained to him, the Force was like a river that ran through the body. Magic, was like a lake composed of the Force that was stored within the body before being used. In theory, and as she proved with him, Susan and Daphne, it was possible to adjust how to use magic so that it would be more like channeling the Force instead of storing it then using it. However two things muddled that process. The first was if ones magical core became too stabilized. The second, which his mother had discovered after months study, were wands.

Wands, as well as acting as an amplifier for power, basically created a short cut for the magical user to access their magical core and therefor the Force. Which was why wandless magic was so rare amongst the magical population. They never had to learn how to access their magical core in order to do magic. So until everyone learned how to properly access their magical core, he couldn't teach them anything Force related. Of course…saying something an actually accomplishing it were two very different things.

He'd spent pretty much the entirety of their first session trying to explain this to everyone without saying too much for fear that Dumbledore or Snape would pluck the knowledge from their minds. Not an easy task.

 _-Flashback-_

 _"So let me get this straight Harry," Tracey said more than slightly skeptically. "You…a twelve year old…are going to teach us all how to do wandless magic?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"That's impossible Harry!" Hermione all but shouted. "Only the most powerful witches and wizards in the world can do wandless magic! And even then they need to study for decades!"  
"That's because they don't know what they're doing." Daphne countered._

 _"Oh, and you do snake?" Ron sneered._

 _Daphne's cool blue eyes hardened as she turned towards Ron. But it was Luna who answered his question. "Yes Ronald…and you must do something about your temper or you will be left alone and forgotten."_

 _That certainty didn't smooth things over. Ron's face turned scarlet and within moments the room and once again descended into anarchy. Becoming more and more frustrated with the situation, Harry rubbed his temples. "Enough!" He shouted, silencing everyone. "I think a demonstration is in order. Hermione…levitate the desk."_

 _Hermione looked at him quizzically, but drew her wand none the less. "Without your wand Hermione." Susan said before Hermione could cast her spell._

 _Hermione glared at Susan. "And I told you that it's impossible! Every book says that it takes decades to learn!"_

 _Sighing, Harry turned towards Susan. "Do you want to do the honors?"_

 _"With pleasure." Susan smirked._

 _Closing her eyes, Susan raised her hand. Everyone in the room gasped as the desk rose up into the air. Then just to drive their point home, Susan started spinning the desk around quickly before letting go of it and letting it crash to the ground. "It's only impossible when you believe that it is Hermione." Harry said as Hermione stared down at the ruined desk._

 _-End Flashback-_

Susan's little display pretty much ended any resistance to what they were going to do. However that only brought them to their next problem. How exactly they got the others to access their magical cores. The problem was…Harry had no idea just how to teach them. His mother had taught him a long time ago how to access his core, so now he did it without thought. And, to his utter shame, he hadn't really been paying attention when his mother was instructing Daphne and Susan in their early days of training.

The one thing he did remember, was that his mother had the girls key in on the times that they used accidental magic when they were younger. So for the first few days, Harry had them try to remember any time when they performed accidental magic and try to replicate the feeling. Of course that proved to be useless as they only thing any could recall about their uses of accidental magic was that it occurred whenever they were frightened or angry.

Despite the setback, it did give Harry another idea to try. So during their next session, instead of having them try to remember what their magical core felt like, he had them concentrate on what they were feeling at the time. He then placed a quill on the table and had them come up one at a time and move it with their wand. Once everyone had gone, he had them come back and try again. Only this time without their wands and concentrating on mimicking what they were feeling at the time they had used accidental magic in the past.

Hermione was the first to go. And despite the more than apparent anger and frustration etched across her face, the feather didn't even budge. The same thing happened with Ron, Ginny, and Hannah. As Tracey stepped up Harry was beginning to lose hope that he could actually teach them. But then to his, and everyone else's surprise, Tracey snarled at the feather, thrust out her hand, shouted the incantation and sent the quill streaking across the room with such force that the tip embedded itself into the wall.

Tracey had stared completely gob smacked at her hand and then quill that was still quivering in the wall for moment before she promptly fainted. Despite the after affects, her success spurred on everyone else. And after two weeks and five session, everyone save for Ron and Ginny were able to move the quill.

Seeing as how some of their group had made decent progress, Harry decided to advance their training. Those that had managed to move the quill; Hanna, Hermione, Tracey, and Luna, were paired up with one another under either Daphne or Susan tutelage so that they could work on better feeling out their magic. That left the two who hadn't managed to move the feather; Ginny and Ron, to work with Harry.

At the moment Ginny was standing in front of the table, her hand outstretched and a look of utter fury across her face as she tried to move the quill. "You're forcing it too much Ginny." Harry chided her. "Let the magic flow through you."

Ginny's face scrunched up even more as she tried harder and harder. "Piss on this!" She screamed, running forward and grabbing the quill before throwing it off of the table. "There! I moved the bloody quill! Happy!"

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at Ginny. "I think it might be best if we take a break for the day." Daphne said after staring at Ginny for a moment.

Nodding, Harry looked around. "I agree. We'll meet up again on Friday."

As everyone got up and started to move towards the exit, Harry stayed standing in the center to of the room. "Ginny…stay here a moment."

He could feel a spike of fear cut through the anger that was coursing through Ginny. Once they were completely alone, Harry turned towards her. "Ginny…I'm not going to beat around the bush here. Something's wrong. What is it?"

Ginny bit her lip, and Harry could feel a wave of shame roll through her. "I – I don't…"

Shaking his head, he looked out the window. "Something is on your mind. Something that is preventing you from focusing. And until you move past it, you'll never succeed with what we're trying to accomplish here. So, what is on your mind?"

Ginny began nervously wringing her hands together. "Quidditch tryouts are in three days." She said so fast that he could barely understand her.

"So?"

"So?" Ginny responded completely shocked. "So? I say that quidditch try outs are in three days and all you can say is 'so'?"

"Yes." Harry shot back keeping his calm. "So, why are the tryouts troubling you?"

Again Ginny started wringing her hands together. "Because I want to be on the team."

"I'm still failing to see why this is causing your lack of attention."

"Because I don't know if I'm going to make it!" Ginny nearly screamed. "I don't know if I'm good enough! Or even if by some miracle I am…I don't think that I will be allowed on the team because I'm a first year. And even if I do…I don't know if I'll be good enough because the first game is in a few weeks and I don't know if I'll be ready and-"

"Then you're going to fail."

Ginny blinked twice at him. And then she tried to slap him. A slap which he caught well before her hand could reach him. "How can you say that!?" Ginny screamed, nearly in tears.

"Because you've already admitted that you're going to fail." He responded calmly, not letting go of her hand.

"I never said that-"

"Yes you did." Letting go of her hand, he took a step back. "My mother has always said, you either do something, or you don't. There is no try."

Ginny's brow furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense Harry."

"Yes it does Ginny." Harry sighed. "You either do something or you don't. The moment you believe that you can't do something is the moment that you fail." Stepping up to her, he placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "Stop saying you don't know Ginny. You _are_ going to make the team. And once you do, you'll be the best person on the team."

"Do you really think that?" Ginny asked, her blush coming on full force.

"It doesn't matter what I believe Ginny. It matters what _you_ know." Harry countered as he took a step back from her. "And once you make the team. I can show you tricks that will make you the best quidditch player and flyer the world has ever seen."

Ginny looked up sharply at that. "You can? How?"

' _Gotcha.'_ "Well…first you need to concentrate and find your magical core. Once you do that you can construct your mental barriers. And then after that…I can teach you things that will make you unstoppable."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Ginny bit her lip, looked away, and then nodded. "Okay…I promise to listen and do what you say Harry."

The second the words passed her lips, Harry felt something settling. What he didn't know…but something was…different. "Good." Harry nodded still somewhat confused by what just happened. "Now…let's try something different."

Picking up the quill again, he set it on top of the desk again before coming up behind her. "Harry?" Ginny gasped as he brought his head close to hers and lifted her arm.

"Shh," Harry hushed her. He could feel her excitement, confusions…and something he couldn't identify. And if he were being entirely truthful with himself…being pressed against her was stirring similar urgings within him. Urgings that he ruthlessly pushed back down. Now was not the time or the place for _that_ to be happening. "Focus. Remember what you felt when you used accidental magic. And remember…there is no try."

Nodding, Ginny raised her hand towards the quill. And despite the whirlwind of emotions coursing through her, or perhaps because of them, the quill slowly slid off of the table. "I did it!" Ginny shouted, turning around quickly and hugging Harry.

Before he could even process what had happened, Ginny had stepped back from him and was once again blushing from the roots of her hair down past her neck. "Umm…sorry about that." She mumbled.

"It's alright." Harry responded more than slightly awkwardly. "No harm no foul."

"Good." Ginny smiled, and Harry was somewhat confused that he could sense that Ginny was genuinely…pleased. "You're not going to teach Ron this way are you?"

Harry started laughing despite himself. "Good F – Merlin no."

"Good." Ginny smiled before tilting her head to the side. "So…are you going to Lockharts dueling club tomorrow?"

Harry blinked at the sudden turn in conversation, but was more than thankful for the change in subject. "Well I wasn't planning on it. But then I figure that this would be a good chance to see the pompous windbag get knocked on his arse. So…yeah I'll be going."

"Hahaha! Well…that would definitely make my week." Ginny smiled.

"Yeah…" Harry said still thoroughly confused by what just transpired between them. It was almost as if he could…feel Ginny in his mind now. "Come on, let's meet up with everyone else. No telling what idea's Luna is filling their heads with." Ginny looked at him curiously. "You know…you…me…alone…lap sitting?"

Ginny turned completely red. "Right…no need for that. Let's go!"

"Yeah…let's go."

* * *

The Great Hall was packed with just about every student in Hogwarts standing on their feet and staring at the large table that had been set up in the center of the Hall as a stage. In fact, Harry was pretty sure that the only students not in the Great Hall were the few that were in the hospital wing. Or as he preferred to call them,

When Lockhart had first announced the club's formation two weeks ago, Harry wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. And yet…here he was. Of course if he was asked as to why he was there, his response would be simple. Just as he had told Ginny yesterday, he was here to watch Lockhart get knocked on his ass.

Hearing more than a few ooh's, he looked up as Lockhart climbed up onto the stage. The man looked like a complete and utter fool. The only way Harry could accurately describe what the man was wearing was, 'stereotypical hero outfit'. Cape and all.

"Good day young witches and wizards!" Lockhart smiled, causing more than one witch to swoon and more than one wizard to grind his teeth. "In recognition to my extraordinary talents, our Headmaster and the Board of Governors have allowed me to create this Dueling club to better educate all of you. As I'm sure many of you have read, I am quite the accomplished duelist. For more details, please read my latest works."

With a flourish Lockhart undid his cape and threw it into the crowd. The three girls who caught the blasted thing almost came to blows as they desperately fought over it. Lockhart seemed completely oblivious to the young witches as he bowed theatrically. "But even the most experience duelist like myself cannot properly teach without assistance. So joining me today are your very own Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick!"

Both Professor's stepped up onto the stage, albeit to a far lesser fanfare than Lockhart. "Professor Flitwick has agreed to moderate this dueling club. And Professor Snape has sportingly agreed to be my sparring partner. But don't worry students. You'll still have your potions Master in one piece even after I'm done with him."

There were more than a few chuckles from the students. Save for Harry. Leaning back slightly, he looked over at Ron and Hermione. "Five sickles say's he goes down in one move."

Hermione glared at him, but Ron just laughed. "Sorry Harry. I don't take sucker bets."

Up on stage, the three professors had gathered in the center with Lockhart and Snape facing off against one another. "Now students, the first thing you do in a duel is bow to your opponent." Lockhart and Snape demonstrated this by bowing to one another before each took several spaces back. "Now…in a competitive duel the referee, in this case Professor Flitwick, will count up to three to avoid any preemptive strikes. So my diminutive friend, if you would."

Harry noticed that Flitwick's lip twitched at the word 'diminutive'. "One. Two. Three!"

 _"Expelliarmus!"_

To Harry, Snape's spell seemed almost lazy and incredibly slow. But it still managed to hit Lockhart, who didn't even attempt to dodge, right in the chest. The crowd gasped as the professor was thrown to the ground and has his wand forcibly taken from him. A wand which Snape caught and then threw right back at the downed man.

Mustering what little dignity he had, Lockhart grabbed his wand and stood up. "Very good Professor Snape! Just as I wanted you to do! Showing a text book example of the disarming charm!" Lockhart smiled. "But I must say…you actions were pretty predictable."

"Then perhaps it would be best if you show our students how to block unfriendly spells." Snape drawled. "Lest the same thing happen to them."

Lockhart glared at Snape for the briefest of moments before his face brightened again. "Of course! That's a wonderful idea. And how about we have a few student volunteers! Let's see…umm…let's have Harry Potter and Ron Weasley come on up here. And have a little competitive duel."

Harry closed his eyes and groaned. Of course Lockhart would pick him out of the crowd. "Potter and Weasley are friends," Snape sneered. "They will not actually try against one another. Perhaps someone from my own house. Someone who will actually keep Potter honest. Draco Malfoy perhaps?"

"Brilliant idea!" Lockhart clapped. "Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy. Front and center if you would both please."

Silently cursing, Harry made his way through the crowd and stepped up onto the table. Lockhart met him almost immediately and tried to show him something, but Harry just ignored him and continued walked to the center of the stage. Draco was walking down the length of the table as well with Snape right next to him, whispering in his ear the entire time. When the two were less than a few paces from one another Snape stepped back Draco and walked back to the far end of the table.

"Now boys, this is a simply disarming exercise." Lockhart called out from behind Harry. "First to knock their opponent down two out of three times, or the first to successfully disarm the other, will be declared the winner."

"Raise your wands." Flitwick commanded, stepping between the two of them.

Drawing his wand from his holster Harry brought it up to the center of his face as Draco drew his own wand from within his robes and mimicked his actions. "Scared Potter?"

"Not even remotely Draco." He wasn't afraid. He was angry. This was the little ferret that had done everything in his power to try and make Harry's time at school miserable. No…he wasn't afraid. "But you should be Draco."

"Bow and step back to your ends boys."

Following Flitwick's command, both Harry and Draco bowed to each other before marching back to their respective ends of the table. Once there Draco took up a textbook dueling stance, while Harry just stood there with his wand held loosely at his left side.

"On the count of three boys." Flitwick said raising his wand. "One. Two. Three!"

 _"Diffindo!"_

Harry was mildly surprised, and impressed, that Draco would lead off their impromptu duel with a powerful cutting curse. But in the end it was all for naught as Harry simply side-stepped and watched as the spell passed harmlessly over his shoulder. Draco's eyes widened. Snape's eyes widened. He could feel Lockhart's shock. And Flitwick was just grinning.

"You missed Draco. Perhaps you need father here to hold your wand straight."

Draco's eyes narrowed and Harry could almost taste the anger radiating off of him. " _Mimble Wimble! Locomotor Mortis! Baubillious!"_

Keeping his focus, Harry sidestepped the first spell, jumped over the second, and then twisted in mid-air to avoid the third. The moment his feet touched the table, he rolled forward to avoid another spell from Draco. " _Ventus."_

A whirlwind of air shot out of Harry's wand and crossed the distance between the two almost faster than the eye could see. Draco didn't even have a chance to move as the spell hit him dead center and sent him flying backwards before landing in a heap right next to Snape.

"Point to Potter!"

Moving back to his end of the stage, Harry smirked as he watched Snape roughly haul Draco up, say something under his breath, and then push him back into place. Again holding his wand loosely at his side, he waited for Draco to move. Snarling, Draco slashed his wand across his body. _"Serpensortia!"_

A long thin black rope sprung out from Draco's wand before impacting the table between them with a thump. The rope started slithering and hissing making everyone near the table take a step back. It wasn't a rope. It was a seven-foot long extremely pissed looking off king cobra. " _Killssss! Bitessss! Killssss!"_

" _Ssstop!"_

The snake stopped as if frozen. The air within the Great Hall shifted as every student gasped. And only a moment too late did Harry realize what he'd done. _'Shite! That was parseltongue!'_

" _Yousss are Sssspeaker?"_

" _Yessss."_ Harry hissed back, his cover was already blown, and seeing as how everyone was staring at him in shock, he might as well use this to his advantage. " _Return to the one who ssssumoned you and bitesss them."_

 _"With pleassssure!"_

In a flash, the cobra had turned around and was speeding towards a thoroughly confused Draco. By the time it finally registered in Draco's mind what was going on, the snake had already launched itself up off the table and opened its jaws. " _Vipera Evanesca!"_

Luckily for Draco, Snape hadn't been shocked to the point of inaction. The spell that left his wand completely disintegrated the snake while it was still in the air.

Of course it didn't matter much, as Harry had cast a disarming curse at Draco while the snake was airborne. The spell passed by Snape's spell and hit Draco. The boy was thrown back as his wand was forcibly torn from his hand and sent flying towards Harry. Without even looking, Harry daftly caught the wand in midair and started twirling it between his fingers.

"I believe I won Professor." He said, tossing Draco's wand onto the stage floor before stepping down off the platform.

The student body immediately separated before him, leaving him a direct unimpeded path towards the exit. Which he took without looking back.

Harry didn't even realize that Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna had been chasing after him until after he arrived on the seventh floor and threw open the door to their training room. "Bloody hell mate!" Ron breathed as they all piled into the room after Harry. "Why didn't you tell us that you're a parselmouth?"

"Because even I didn't know until this summer." Harry answer harshly making Ron take a step back from him.

"Whoa…easy mate. Didn't mean anything by it. Just…curious."

"Harry, do you have any idea how bad this looks?" Hermione asked biting her lip. "Parseltongue isn't considered a good gift to have! The only truly known parselmouths were-"

"Voldemort and Slytherin." Harry interrupted. "Are you grouping me together with them?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "No of course I'm not! It's just…I…"

"She's just worried Harry." Ginny cut in. "And…well none of us think that you're evil or anything. It just…parseltongue isn't well thought of."

"I know. Which is why I wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible." Harry sighed, his anger cooling slightly. "But…I can't actively control it right now. And when Draco summoned that damn snake…I reacted on instinct." And Harry had a nagging feeling what he'd just done was about to make his life here at Hogwarts all the more complicated.

* * *

Two days after the debacle that was the 'Dueling Club' Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and about half of Gryffindor made their way out onto the Quidditch pitch. Only about half of the assembled crowd were actually trying out for the team. The other half were like Harry and had just come down to watch. Unfortunately, Harry's prediction of his life becoming more complicated had been spot on. His fellow house mates were all giving him a wide breath wherever he walked. The only ones who even seemed brave enough to approach him were Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.

As everyone took their seats in the stands, the current members of the Gryffindor house team made their way out of the locker room and onto the field. "Alright!" The boy Harry recognized as Oliver Wood, the Captain of the house team, shouted. "Will everyone who is trying out please come on down here. Everyone else please stay up in the stands."

"Wish me luck." Ron gulped as he shakily got to his feet.

"You're going to need it brother." Ginny said rising as well.

Ron did a double take. "Ginny! What are you doing?"

"Joining the team brother."

"But – but you can't! You're a first year!"

"There's no rule saying that I can't." Ginny said stepping past her brother and making her way down to the pitch.

For a moment Ron just stood there, completely floored by what his sister had just done. "Hey! Wait up! I'm not done yet!"

"What did you say to her?" Hermione asked as the two of them watched Ron run down the stands after Ginny.

"What do you mean, 'what did I say to her'?" Harry asked keeping his eyes glued to the students assembled on the pitch. By the looks of things, Fred and George were just as surprised as Ron that their sister was trying out for the team. But neither were nearly as vocal as their younger brother.

"Don't play coy with me Harry." Hermione said sharply. "Ginny has been a nervous wreck for over a week now. Then you two have a talk and now she has the confidence of one who has already made the quidditch team. So spill."

Leaning back slightly, Harry watched as Ginny swung her leg over the school broom and took off like she'd been born on one. As Harry watched Ginny fly, well admired really, he began to wonder if skill on a broom could translate to skill within a fighter plane. After all…his mother did need pilots. And soon.

"Do, or do not. There is no try."

"What?"

Turning his eyes away from Ginny, who was quite literally fly loops around the competition, Harry focused in on Hermione. "That's what I told her. Either do something. Or don't do it. There is no trying. Trying implies that you believe you can fail. And that's exactly what she's doing."

Once all of the potential candidates touched back down, Oliver separated everyone based on the positions that they were hoping to gain. For the next hour and a half, Harry watched as Ginny latterly flew circles around all of the competition on the field. Despite her age, there was absolutely no doubt that she was the best flier out there. Perhaps even better than some of the people currently on the team.

Once the tryouts were over, Oliver announced that Gryffindor's new seeker would be named within the next two days. Ginny was positively on cloud nine as they walked back to the common room. Ron on the other hand looked completely miserable. His attempt at trying out for the position of reserve keeper had failed. And pretty substantially at that.

Later that same day as everyone sat in the common room eagerly waiting for the announcement of just who would be on the team, Professor McGonagall made a rare appearance. Her eyes scanned the every face in the common room until they landed on Ginny. Harry smirked as McGonagall came over to Ginny and asked to speak with her in her office. As the two left, there was no doubt in anyone's mind as to what had just happened. Ginny had just been named as Gryffindor's new seeker.

* * *

Throwing another book over her shoulder, Nox ran her finger along the line of books that detailed all of the known magical creatures of the world. Ever since her little 'talk' with the diary of Riddle, she'd been in the library trying to piece together everything she'd seen in the fragmented memories. To say that it was slow going was an understatement. ' _Force…this would be so much easier with datapad. In fact…that's going to be my company's next 'invention'."_

"Good Merlin Nox…I think you could've given even James a run for his galleons in terms of cleanliness."

Pulling another book off the shelf, Nox started flipping through the pages while keeping her back turned to Remus and Sirius. "Tell me gentlemen, do you know how many death's there have been at Hogwarts in the past century?"

She could feel the confusion radiating off of both men behind her and she continued to flip through the pages of the book. "Um…well there was that one bloke, oh what his name…Roberts? He bit it during our second year-"

"There have been fourteen." She said cutting Sirius off as she threw slammed the book shut and threw it over her shoulder. "Nine male and five female. Ten of the deaths were ruled accidental and no charges were ever filled against anyone. Three of them were suicides. But in one cause there was a person who was actually charged with criminal negligence which resulted in the death of a student."

Going back over to her desk, she swept the pile of books off of it and opened flipped open the book she'd marked to the specific page before turning it to the two men. "Her name was Myrtle Elizabeth Warren. Sorted into Ravenclaw in 1940. Found dead under mysterious circumstances in a girls bathroom in 1943."

Both men looked down at the page as Nox went back over to the shelf. "I remember her." Sirius announced. "She's a ghost in Hogwarts. Goes by the name Moaning Myrtle."

"Yeah, you would remember her." Remus laughed. "I seem to recall she ruined a date between you and the ever buxom Ellie of Hufflepuff in the Prefects bathroom."

"Laugh it up Remus. I'd like to see you actually talk your way into a girls knickers after a ghost pops up from a bathtub drain. But then again…the view of her running starkers from the bathtub. Mmm…good memories."

"Your depravity aside gentlemen, it's good to know that she is still around. Harry will be able to question her later." Pulling another book off the shelf she began flipping through it. "But as I was saying, she was found dead in the girl's bathroom without a mark on her. It was later declared that one Rubeus Hagrid was responsible for her death, as he was caught with an unknown creature that he somehow managed to smuggle into the castle. A creature that later escaped and was never identified despite extensive questioning."

Throwing the book over her shoulder, she continued. "There was also a rumor started that year that the so called 'Chamber of Secrets' had been opened. In fact, two other students had been 'petrified' during the year as well. And while no one could directly prove it, the suspicion was that Hagrid was the one who opened it and released the 'guardian'."

"Bullocks." Sirius scoffed. "Hagrid might be a little…unreasonable when it comes to magical creatures. But he isn't an idiot when it comes to them either. Not to mention…he was a Gryffindor. There is no way he would be able to open Slytherin's hidden chamber."

"He was a scape goat, nothing more." Nox added as she pulled another book down. "As I said, before his arrest there were two other attacks which resulted in the students becoming petrified and later cured. The attacks stopped after his arrest, which seemed to be all the proof needed for the head of the DMLE at the time to expel Hagrid and snap his wand. But what is even more interesting is the name of the student who 'caught' Hagrid. He was captured by the Head Boy that year, one Tom Riddle."

"Voldemort." Remus gasped. "He must've opened the Chamber, killed the girl, and then blamed Hagrid. But…why would he do that? Seems like a lot of work just to expel Hagrid. And why would he even go after Hagrid?"

"Hagrid was an easy target and a perfect scape goat for the death, nothing more." Nox said, growing more and more frustrated as the book she was holding proved to be worthless. "But Hagrid wasn't his focus. It was the girl. She was Tom's first sacrifice towards his immortality."

Both men gaped at her. "Shite. You're saying that Voldemort created his first Horcrux while he was still in school?" Sirius breathed. "Morgana's sagging tits. So what are you looking for?"

"How she died." Nox growled as she threw the book over her shoulder. "The memory I saw showed Riddle in a large cavern, this 'Chamber of Secrets' I suppose. He spoke in parseltongue to the largest snake I have ever seen. The snake then emerged in one of the girls bathrooms within Hogwarts and killed this Myrtle just by looking at her. I've been trying, and failing, to figure out what the snake was. But with no proper organization and no advance search options…it is proving to be most taxing."

"A basilisk." Remus breathed, making Nox turn around sharply.

"A what?"

"A basilisk." Remus reiterated. "It has to be."

Blinking, Nox moved away from the shelf and walked towards the werewolf. "Tell me everything you know about this creature."

Licking his lips, Remus nodded. "They're called the 'King of the Serpents', and for good reason too. They're registered as a class five dark creature because they've been known to kill wizards and even dragons on occasion. They're constantly growing throughout their entire life span. And the oldest on record was seven hundred years old and whooping fifty-five feet long. Their venom is probably the deadliest and most painful toxin on the Earth. And there is no known anti-venom either through muggle or magical means. The only cure that I know of is phoenix tears. Their hide is also as tough as dragon scales. They can kill anything that looks directly into their eyes. However if you were to look at their eyes from a mirror or through a lens, even glasses, then you would be petrified. Which wouldn't matter much because it would probably kill you immediately afterwards anyway. And despite popular belief, a rooster's cry cannot actually kill a basilisk. But it will instead drive the creature into a frenzy of pain where it will flail about wildly and attack anything in sight."

Staring at Remus for a second, Nox shook her head. "Figures. I spend days pouring over dozens of books trying to find out what this creature was that I saw, and you answer my question within minutes."

"I don't think you're really grasping the situation here Nox." Sirius said completely pale. "The basilisk is an alpha predator. There is a very good reason why they are highly regulated by the Ministry and why they're never allowed to grow past a certain point. And there is one, probably the oldest in existence, sitting in a hidden chamber below Hogwarts! And Voldemort can access it on a whim!"

"No, I understand all too well." Nox said evenly. "There is a chamber that few believe even exist below a school filled with children and guarded by what is considered to be an alpha predator of the magical world. It's the perfect place to hide a soul shard. And we have the location of it and the means to access it freely."

"No." Sirius said quickly as he realized just what Nox was saying. "You are _not_ sending Harry against a basilisk! Fifteen years ago the Brazilian Ministry discovered an unregistered basilisk den. There were three of them in there. All over two-hundred years old! Sure the Brazilian's used roosters to weaken and drive the snakes into a frenzy, and two of them even died because of it. But the third one, one basilisk, less than a fifth the potential age of the one we are looking at, took out seven of a fifteen man team of experience creature handlers and hit wizards. I don't care what kind of training he has, my godson is not facing one of those things alone!"

"And I don't mean to send him in, at least not alone and not yet." Nox countered staring Sirius down. "If he were to suddenly find a lost chamber and kill a giant snake…it would create too many questions. No, we have to do this slowly and carefully and with Amelia's help. But in the end Sirius, Harry will need to be with us because of his unique skill set."

"Parseltongue."  
"Yes." Nox nodded. "In the memory fragment, Riddle used parseltongue to not only control the beast, but also to open the chamber. So we will need him in the end. But I don't intend to send him down there alone either." Staring off to the side, a plan started to form in Nox's mind. "Yes…yes that could work. But I will need to move fast."

Getting up from her seat, she began making a list of what she would need. Off to the side of the room, Sirius and Remus looked at each other. "So…what do you want us to do?" Sirius asked.

"For the moment? Keep your mouths shut." Nox said curtly. "It's time to test Harry's little researcher."

* * *

The first quidditch game of the season for Gryffindor was scheduled against Slytherin and slotted for the first Saturday in November. So that morning, instead of heading up to the room of requirement with Susan and Daphne, Harry followed Hermione and Ron out of the castle and towards the quidditch pitch. Thankfully, Ron had seemed to finally have come to terms with the fact that his younger sister had made the quidditch team. And while he was trying harder in their study sessions, he had yet too actually make the quill do anything more than slightly twitch. Harry would have to talk to his mother…but he was afraid that his friend's magical core had already stabilized. If that were the case…then Harry didn't know how much he would be able to teach him.

"-just hope that she doesn't embarrass herself." Ron was saying as the three of them took their seats in the bleachers. "I mean…I didn't even know she could fly! How much practice could she have had before coming here anyway?"

"A lot more than you think Ronald."

Looking up sharply, Harry cursed as Luna plopped down next to him. It wasn't the fact that she was here that upset him. It was the fact that he didn't even sense her. ' _Has she progressed so quickly already that she can hide herself? Or…or am I really that distracted?'_

"Luna…what are you doing over here?" Hermione sighed. "These are the Gryffindor bleachers."

"Oh? Is there a rule saying that I can't be here?"

Hermione made to respond, then stopped. "No."

"Oh good," Luna smiled. "Not that I really cared. Rules are such a bother most of the time. But it's good to know that you don't have a reason to be angry with me. We six can't afford to be divided."

A loud cheer rang through the stadium as the Gryffindor team, dressed in red and gold robes, and the Slytherin team, dressed in green and silver, stepped out onto the pitch. As one both teams mounted their brooms and made a full circle around the pitch before meeting in the center where Madam Hooch was waiting. Harry ignored everyone, save for Ginny who guided her broom into place high above the rest of her team mates. Harry had to practically force Ginny to take his broom for the game. But watching her fly on it was definitely worth it.

With a loud screech, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and threw the quaffle high up into the air and the game was off.

The players exploded into a flurry of green and red that actually impressed Harry. Sirius had taken him and his mother to see a quidditch game before he started Hogwarts so he knew what to expect. But what he wasn't expecting was such a high level of play from kids still in school. Within moments of the game starting, the Gryffindor chasers had volleyed the quaffle down the length of the pitch and scored.

Grabbing the quaffle, a Slytherin chaser started to make his way down the field. But he was almost immediately de-broomed by a well aim bludger curtesy of one of the twins. The dropped ball was quickly scooped up by the Gryffindor team who immediately scored again.

Feeling a spike of excitement, Harry looked up in time to see Ginny take off like a bullet towards the ground with the Slytherin seeker a split second behind her. Just before she hit the ground, Ginny pulled up sharply and skimmed the grass with her toes. The Slytherin seeker wasn't nearly as good as Ginny and ended up going head first into the ground before he could pull up.

While the crowd was gasping and staring at the downed seeker, Harry kept his eyes on Ginny. She had one arm outstretched, and Harry could just barely make out a small golden object just beyond her finger tips. The moment her fingers curled around the small golden snitch, the bludgers stopped moving and Madam Hooch blew her whistle.

 _ **"And Ginny Weasley catches the snitch! Gryffindor wins a 170 to zero in the fastest game in Hogwarts history!"**_

Smirking, Harry stood up with the rest of Gryffindor and clapped as Ginny rose up into the air with the golden snitch firmly clutched in her hand.

The slightest touch of the Force was all the warning Harry had as one of the large Slytherin beaters collided with Ginny at full speed. Harry's brain completely shut down as he watched Ginny fall from nearly fifty feet in the air. The moment she hit the ground Harry felt a stabbing pain in his arm.

Completely ignoring everyone around him, Harry took off down the bleachers. He didn't even hesitate as he vaulted over the railing and fell the twenty or more feet to the ground. Using the Force, he slowed his descent enough to roll forward the moment his feet touched the ground. Then he was sprinting across the open pitch towards Ginny.

Sliding to his knees, he gently cradled the crying redhead as the rest of the Gryffindor team landed around them. "H-H-Harry…my arm hurts! Oh Merlin it hurts!"

Swallowing, Harry gently moved Ginny's good arm away so he could see. Her right arm was bending unnaturally in at least three different places that he could see.

Still holding onto the crying girl, Harry looked up towards the ox that'd ran into her. All of the members of the Slytherin team were surrounding him, more than likely for protection, as Madam Hooch berated the player. Laying Ginny back down carefully Harry snapped his left arm out to his side and drew his wand.

He'd barely covered half the distance between the two of them when a figure in black stepped in front of him. "What do you think you're doing Potter?"

Looking up, Harry glared at his potion's professor but didn't say a word. Snape looked down towards his drawn wand, then back up. "Ten points from Gryffindor for threatening a student over an accident Potter. And if you take one more step I will see to it that you are expelled. Besides…shouldn't you be taking care of your little pet? I certainly wouldn't trust Lockhart with anything, let alone an injured person."

Spinning around, his eyes widened in horror as he saw Lockhart cast a spell at Ginny's arm. "There. Everything is…oh…well that can happen sometimes. Well, at least her arm isn't broken anymore!"

In a twisted sort of way, Lockhart was right. Considering that he'd just vanished all of the bones in Ginny's arm.

Harry couldn't have stopped his reaction even if he wanted too. Snarling in anger, he lashed out at Lockhart with the Force. The fraud didn't even have time to yell in surprise as Harry's Force push threw him clear across the pitch. The only reason Lockhart hadn't gone further still was because he crashed into the student bleachers with enough force to shatter several bones.

Completely ignoring the looks he was receiving, Harry walked over to Ginny and picked her up bridle style before turning and walking off of the pitch. She needed Madam Pomfrey immediately. Mending a broken bone was something that he could've taken care of in an instant. But healing a bone that'd been vanished? That was something that he had no idea how to deal with.

* * *

Sitting at his desk and staring down at the medical report filled by Madam Pomfrey, Dumbledore was starting to feel all of his one-hundred-and-twenty-two years of age. The Weasley girl would recover. But it would take time. Healing bones was an easy thing. Re-growing them however…that was something else entirely. She was in for a painful couple of days. And that wasn't to mention the week or more it would take her to gain full functionality of her right arm.

Lockhart on the other hand was fortunate. Despite all of his injuries; broken ribs, cracked skull, and internal bleeding, he was healed and back on his feet within the day by Madam Pomfrey.

It wasn't necessarily the injuries that were making him feel his age. It was how the injuries came to pass. Or more specifically, how the injuries to Lockhart came to pass. Despite being able to pass off what happened as a 'stress induced bout of accidental magic', Dumbledore knew that what happened was anything but. It was wandless magic. And Harry had done it deliberately and with the intent of causing as much damage as possible.

' _Just what has Nox been teaching Harry?'_

The duel between Harry and Draco had also revealed a startling amount of information. First was the way the boy moved. Dumbledore had been around his fair share of soldiers in his life time, having lived through two world wars. And he knew an experienced fighter when he saw one. And Harry…Harry could put most of them to shame.

Second was the ease with which he overpowered Draco. In classes Harry had been doing well, but not necessarily remarkably or historically well. But the magic he displayed during the fight left only one possible conclusion. Harry was holding back in class. And with that thought in mind, magic only knew what else the boy was hiding.

And lastly was the fact that the boy could speak parseltongue. The Potters had never shown any affinity for the unique skill in all of recorded history. Which left two options. Either one, he inherited it from Lily Potter, unlikely. Or two, and far more likely, he received the powers from Voldemort. ' _Oh my dear boy…I had so hoped that this wasn't the case…but in order for Voldemort to truly parish…I fear that you must die as well.'_

Unfortunately, due to the events of last year he was pretty much powerless to try and investigate deeper into a possible connection between Harry and Voldemort. By the grace of magic he had somehow managed to avoid an official inquiry into the events of the previous year. Although part of him feared that it wasn't his reputation or luck that had spared him. But rather Madam Nox. But why she would allow him to escape unscathed still confused him.

On the surface, it looked as if Nox had taken next to no actions ever since her emergence into the wizarding world several years ago. But if one looked deeper, connections could be found that proved otherwise. Families breaking long held alliances overnight for little to no reason. The werewolves of Britain pretty much disappearing overnight. Certain legislation being pushed through the Wizenagmot with bipartisan support. Supposedly large strides being taken in the muggle world in terms of 'technology'.

Individually, these events didn't seem to be connected. The only thing that they had in common was that they all happened _after_ Nox announced herself to the wizarding world. And it was Dumbledore's fear that she was creating a powerbase completely separate from the light and the dark families. A powerbase that was composed of the fringes of the wizarding world, and the muggle world for that matter. And a powerbase that would one day outnumber both sides.

But again…at the moment he was powerless. Once this year passed by without incident, and the hype from the previous year died down, he could begin his investigation into her activities more in-depth. But until then, he needed to keep his nose clean and make sure he didn't draw any unwanted attention to himself and Hogwarts in general.

* * *

Grimmuald Place was alive with activity as the Christmas part wore on into the night. Sirius and Amelia were sitting side by side while chatting with Hannah's mother and father. Hannah and Susan were off in the corner playing a game of exploding snap. Daphne, Tracey, and Astoria were all sitting together while looking over a book that Daphne had gotten for Christmas. Cyrus and Evelyn were standing with Tracey's father, Remus, and Aela. All of whom were laughing slightly as Remus no doubt told another tale of the Marauders. And Tonks, much to everyone's shook, was leaning on his mother's arm. Apparently they had decided not to keep their relationship a secret. At least within the confines of their small little group. All in all, everyone was having a good time. Everyone except for Harry that was.

After the dueling club incident, his life at school had slowly dissolved into a living hell. His little parseltongue slip had made him the talk of the school, and not in a pleasant way either. The students, with the exception of his 'inner circle', avoided him like the plague whenever they saw him walking in the hall. Being avoid he could deal with. But their snarky comments behind his back was really starting irritate him.

And things only got worse after the Gryffindor versus Slytherin quidditch game. His little display of 'accidental magic' that ended up breaking nearly half of the bones in Lockhart's body had made him public enemy number one in the eyes just about every female within the school. And then because of his actions surrounding Ginny, more than a few rumors had started to circulate about the two of them. The kindest of which said that Ginny was Harry's personal whore, which was why the Weasley's were no longer living in poverty. And those were the nicest of the rumors.

One up side to the term though was when Harry managed to get his revenge against the lummox that'd crashed into Ginny. It was actually incredibly easy. All he needed to do was make sure he was in the Great Hall before the lummox arrived and that he had a clear view of the stair's leading up from the dungeons. The moment he saw the lummox crest the top of the stairs, he simply swiped his feet out from under him with a subtle wave of the Force.

It wasn't Harry's fault that the lummox fell backwards down the entire set of stairs instead of forwards. But he certainly wasn't going to argue with the results. The boy had to be transferred out of Hogwarts and to the magical hospital in order to receive treatments for a dozen broken bones, a fractured disk in his spine, a ruptured lung, and a cracked skull. All in all…it seemed to adequate repayment for what he'd done to Ginny.

Snape, predictably enough, had gone on a war path through Gryffindor house. He demanded that every wand be tested for anything even remotely similar to a tripping jinx or anything that could've caused his student's 'accident'. With Harry's being first. He failed of course. Snape was relentless though, instead of punishing the Harry as he'd no doubt wanted, he proceeded to try and make everyone in Gryffindor's lives a living hell. With Harry and Ginny's brothers at the top of his target list. According to Daphne and Tracey, Snape was actually offering House Points to anyone who could subtly sabotage any of their potion's in class.

Then there was the ever present thorn in his side by the name of Gilderoy Lockhart. The man was…well calling him a thorn in Harry's side would be insulting…to the thorn. Ever since the first class Lockhart, for some reason, seemed to be under the impression that he and Harry should be the best of friends. The man almost went out of his way to talk with Harry. Usually about how he needed to better manage his fame and how Lockhart could help him with that. Even after the quidditch match the man didn't stop. If anything he got worse! As he seemed to be under the impression that Harry should be grateful for him not pressing charges against him. It was getting so bad that Harry was starting to seriously contemplating Lockhart having an 'accident'. After all, it'd worked wonders with the lummox.

The combination of Lockhart, Snape, and most of the student body were really starting to wear him down. And he was finding himself becoming increasingly short tempered as the semester progressed. There were only two upsides to the entire semester so far. And those were his little 'study group' and his sparring session with Susan and Daphne. Although even those had their good and bad points by the end of the semester.

A promising aspect regarding his inner circle was that by the end of the semester all of the girls; Hannah, Ginny, Tracey, Luna, and Hermione were all able to access their magical cores. Granted all that they could do was levitate a feather, and even then only for a moment. But the fact that they were able to access it allowed them to start creating mental shields from their magic. And by the end of the semester all of them had some semblance of a shield. They weren't spectacular shields by any stretch of the imagination. A skill mind reader like Dumbledore could still get in undetected. And while a blunt force attack could still bypass their shields, they would at least be able to sense it.

The down side to the group was Ron. He was the only one who'd been unable to pass the first test no matter what Harry tried. It was quite possible that his friend's magical core had already stabilized. If so…then he would never be able to access the Force in the same manner as everyone else. So instead of wasting a lot of time, he binge read a book on occlumency that he'd overnighted from the book store in Diagon Alley, and started teaching Ron based on that instead of how his mother had taught him. It was definitely a lot slower process. But before the end of the semester Ron at least had the basis for a shield. And hopefully by the end of the year he would at least have something resembling a shield at the same level that the girls currently had.

His late night sparring sessions had become his main stress relief at school. Although as the semester progressed and his frustration over Lockhart, Snape, and the rest of the school mounted. Harry found himself slipping more and more into the dark side of the Force. He recognized the signs…he was allowing his anger to get the better of him while he fought. But the strange thing was…he found he didn't care. He enjoyed the anger. And the power that came with it.

But that came to a screeching halt when, during one sparing session, he had just about broken Susan's arm and bloodied Daphne's nose. It wasn't so much the injuries that bothered him, after all they were fighting against one another and injuries were quite commonplace. No, what truly bothered him was the fact that he didn't care that they were hurt. He want to heal them. He felt as if they'd deserved what'd happened to them.

That startling revelation made him withdraw from their nightly sparring sessions for the most part. And because of that he lost his main outlet and his frustration and anger had nowhere to go but in.

And to top it all off…he still had yet to find the map! He'd spent more than one sleepless night searching just about every inch of the castle save for the Headmaster's office…and he still couldn't find it!

When all of that was combined…well Harry had noticed no small amount of yellow forming around the edges of his iris. And…he found that he just didn't care. He liked being angry. It made dealing with everything…easy.

And then there was the one constantly confusing aspect of his semester. Ginny.

He had still yet to figure out just what was going on between them! During the quidditch match he could've sworn that he felt her pain. Then he suddenly found himself acting incredibly protective towards her. And as the semester progressed he found that it was becoming increasingly easier to read her emotions without having to have direct contact with her. And if he meditated, he found that he could vaguely sense her emotions even if she was on the other side of the castle. It was extremely confusing. And none of the books that he'd looked into explained what was happening.

"You're not enjoying yourself my son?"

Shaking his head, Harry looked up sharply. His mother was staring down at him. Her face completely neutral. "Not really mother." He said looking away. "Just not in the mood for a party."

His mother stood there staring at him critically for a moment before turning on her heel. "Come with me."

Blinking, Harry hastily got up from his seat and followed his mother out of the common room and up into her office. Once there, his mother magically locked the door and sat down behind her desk. "You wish to say something my son," she said. "What is it?"

Pacing in front of her desk, Harry let his anger and frustration from the semester swell within him. "I want to kill Snape, Draco and Lockhart." Harry hissed, to which his mother merely raised an eyebrow. "I'm powerful enough to do it! It would be easy! They wouldn't expect a lightsaber. I cut all three of them in half before they could even blink."

His mother sighed and pointed to the chair across from her. "Sit down Harry."

There was no mistaking that tone. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Harry hastily sat down in the seat opposite of his mother. "Now tell me. Why you wish to kill Snape, Lockhart and Draco?"

"Because they're annoying! And they're trying to sabotage Susan, Hermione, Ginny, Ron and – and everyone! Lockhart vanished the bones in Ginny's arm! Everything would be so much easier if they weren't there!" A thought suddenly occurred to Harry. "We wouldn't even have to kill them I guess. Except for Lockhart. We could make him have an 'accident' and place the blame on Snape or Draco or both. That would take care of all of our problems quickly."

"So…you wish to kill them because it would make your life easier?" His mother asked rhetorically, and when he nodded she shook her head. "Harry…you're speaking like a Sith. And novice Sith at that."

Harry, now thoroughly confused, gapped at his mother. "But – but that is what you want me to be! I am Sith!"

"No I don't. And you are not Sith. I've lived and breathed the life of a Sith. You live alone. You fight alone. You die alone. You watch your back for fear of being stabbed in it by those beneath you, while at the same time plotting on how to kill those above you. I've done things that I am not proud of Harry. I've killed, maimed, tortured, and humiliated. Anyone who crosses me don't just die Harry. I destroy them, completely and utterly.

"Back when I was still with the Empire, everyone knew not to cross me. If they did, I wouldn't just kill them. I would kill their friends. Their family. Their slaves. Even their pets if I thought it necessary to make my point." His mother glared at him. "If I had wanted you to be a Sith…you would be one. But you are better than Sith. Better than Jedi. You are both, yet neither. You must use your emotions, but at the same time you must think beyond them Harry. Such brash action, like the one you are purposing now, has led to the eventual downfall of untold numbers of Sith."

Harry felt his anger boiling inside, but managed to keep it contained. "So we just let those three continue to wreak havoc on everyone in the school and potentially interfere with our work. Tell me mother…how does that make sense?"

The instant the words were past his lips he regretted them. No one, not even him, back talked to his mother. Instead of getting mad at him however, his mother just sat there staring at him. Which made him even more nervous. "Tell me Harry…in the long run, how many factions are we against and who controls them?"

Harry blinked. "Umm, two. Dumbledore's and Voldemort's."

Nodding, his mother drew her wand and tapped it against her desk creating a full chess set. "Yes. Now let's suppose that the white pieces are Dumbledore's faction and the black are Voldemort's. And this," she said, conjuring a small golden chess King and placing it in the middle of the board, "is us. Now, how do you fight a war on two fronts when both sides greatly outnumber your own?"

"You divide your own faction and use your smaller size and superior skill to outmaneuver and crush your opponents?" Harry answered after a moment's hesitation.

His mother looked at him critically. "Are you asking me, or telling me."

"I'm telling you."

Sighing, his mother shook her head again. "You are still thinking like a novice Harry." Using her wand, she pushed the gold piece to the edge of the board. "No Harry. When you are fighting a war on two fronts, you get the two opposing sides to fight each other." Another wave of her wand at the white and black pieces came to life and started hacking at one another. "And destroy each other." Another wave and all but the three kings were left on the board. "And when they are worn down to nothing, you step in over the ashes and finish it." A last wave of her wand the golden piece slid forwards and with one swing of its sword destroyed both the black and white king.

Harry stared at the board. "So…you're pitting Voldemort and Dumbledore against another."

"Yes," his mother nodded. "Not hard considering that they were already at war with one another to begin with. But this war will not just be between the two of them. With subtle moves on our part…all of our enemies will pick one side or the other. Our enemies will die…and we won't even need to raise a hand."

Sitting there staring at the chessboard, Harry was piecing together his mother's plan. "And…where does Snape, Draco, and Lockhart fit into all of this?"

With a tap of her wand, a white and black bishop stood back up as well as a black knight and pawn. "Severus serves both sides and is highly regarded in both. Hence the bishop. Draco is a pawn, but his father is a knight. Should you remove these pieces from the board, it will tip the scales in favor of one side. Something we cannot have. We need our enemies to be at equal strength if they are to destroy one another. Lockhart has no place on the board…but his untimely removal could add or subtract unknown pieces that we want to play."

"So…they live."

"For now. Yes." His mother said with a note of finality. "Life is full of struggles Harry. And, despite what most Sith believe, you cannot simply kill everyone that either gets in your way or troubles you. Sometimes it may be necessary to do so. But you must learn how to adapt and preserver over a challenge without resorting to immediate violence."

Nodding, Harry was starting to feel slightly ashamed for his brash comments earlier. "I understand mother."

"Good," his mother nodded. "But this conversation has…pointed out an obvious flaw in my teaching."

"Mother?"

His mother was looking off to the side and seemed to be completely oblivious to his presence. "I've been teaching you three by the Sith and Jedi philosophies thinking that would be enough. But it isn't…what you need is a new philosophy. A new…code. I need to meditate on this Harry. No one is to bother me until I come out. Is that understood?"

"Yes mother." Harry said standing.

"Good." His mother nodded, her eyes glossing over slightly before snapping back into focus. "But there is one last thing we must discuss before you leave."

"What's that mother?"

His mother's eyes narrowed almost dangerously, and Harry felt himself involuntarily taking a step back. "Why did you decide that it would be a good idea for you to take an apprentice before you even completed your own training?"

Harry felt all of the breath leave him. ' _An apprentice? But…but I didn't…I haven't taken a…oh no…'_ "I – I –"

"Who is it?"

Licking his lips, Harry forced himself to look up. "I – I think it's Ginny Weasley mother. But…but I'm not sure. All that happened was…was I promised to teach her what I knew…and she promised to listen and do what I say! That couldn't possibly constitute the formation of an apprentice bond…could it?"

Leaning back in her seat, his mother rubbed tiredly at her eyes. "Before coming to this world…I would say no. But after researching magical oaths and magical apprenticeships…I would say that it was. Especially as how I can sense the beginning of a Master-Apprentice bond within you outside of the one that we currently share."

"Is there a way to stop it?"

His mother nodded, giving him a small amount of hope, before she utterly destroyed it. "I could simply kill her. Or you. That would stop the bond from forming in full. But outside of that…no I can't stop it. Once you come into your full power the bond will become permanent. And now that I think about it…this could be beneficial for us."

"How?"

"I'll leave that up to you to figure out my son. After all, you can't have me thinking for you all the time. Now…I sense that you are troubled by something else. One of your friends…Ron."

Swallowing, Harry nodded. "Yes. He…he's not getting it mother. Everyone else has moved onto the next stage of their training, they've even begun creating their mental shields. But Ron…he still can't access his magical core. I've actually had to resort to teaching him basic occlumency. I don't know if it's just my teaching but…but I think that his magical core might be stabilized."

Leaning back in her seat, his mother nodded. "That is possible."

"What should I do?" Harry asked, genuinely conflicted. "I can't just ask him to leave us."

"No you can't." His mother agreed. "He knows far too much. And the moment there is even a glimmer of a fracture between you two, Dumbledore will swoop in and try to claim him for his own means."

"So…what do I do?"

"Continue to train him son. If he doesn't show any improvement…then continue to train him in the 'magical' sense. Offer to continue working with him…but don't waste all of your time on him. In the long run he could still be of use to us. But as I said…do your best not to alienate him, lest we drive him right into Dumbledore's waiting arms."

"As you say mother." Harry nodded.

"Good." Rising from her seat, his mother walked towards her bedroom. "Now leave me…we will speak again before you three leave for school once more."

* * *

Sitting in his office at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gilderoy Lockhart, famed author and all around hero of the modern age, was tempted to throw something across his office. The reason for his frustration was multilayered, but the tipping point was the letter in his hand. It was from his publisher. Sales of his books were down. Significantly. They needed something new. And soon. Or they would be dropping him.

 _'Those incompetent buffoons! A new story is exactly what I am trying to give them! They just need patience!'_

His venture into Hogwarts wasn't because he suddenly felt an urge to teach little brats. No. He came here for one very specific reason. Harry Potter.

Unlike Lockhart's famed deeds, Potter's deeds were truly his own. And he was exactly what Lockhart needed to re-energize his career. Lockhart and Potter, standing side by side and fighting the good fight. People would line up for days just waiting to read about their exploits. Not that they would actually have any of course. But that was just semantics. But instead of going with him, Potter was…resisting him! No matter what he tried to do, or how he tried to endear himself to the kid, it just ended up backfiring in his face!

First there was class, where Harry seemed to be completely bored stiff no matter how he tried to spice it up. He also tried to advise the boy on how to properly manage his fame, which all fell on death ears. When that failed, he formed the dueling club, which Potter then walked out of after displaying parseltongue! Then he tried to endear himself to the boy by healing his friends arm. It wasn't his fault that he accidently vanished all the bones in the girls arm! Anyone could've made that mistake!

' _I doubt Potter will ever agree to my little con.'_ Lockhart mused, folding up the letter from his publisher and throwing it in his trunk. ' _But there are still ways that he can help advance my carrier.'_

Despite his many setbacks…there was still a possibility of a story here at Hogwarts. A story that could reignite his fame and make him more beloved than ever before. He'd done his research before coming to Hogwarts, just on the off chance that Potter did indeed turn him down. And after nearly a month of hard studying…he'd devised a perfect 'Plan B', as it were. ' _Sometimes…a good author needs to create a story instead of finding one.'_

Picking up his quill and a blank piece of parchment, he began writing out a letter to a certain individual that owed him more than a few favors. ' _Sure it will be risky,'_ he thought sealing the envelope. ' _And there is always the chance that someone will be hurt. But in the end…that will make my story all the more authentic. And that will only help sales. Yes…this could indeed prove to be my master piece!'_

* * *

The day before they were set to return to Hogwarts, his mother had summoned Harry, Susan, and Daphne to the training room. As she had ordered, no one had seen or spoken to his mother since she went into her meditation just after Christmas. When his mother entered the training hall, all three apprentices dropped to their knees. "You summoned us, my Master?" Harry intoned looking down.

"Yes I did. Now rise, all of you."

All of them rose to their feet as one. His mother walked up to them, and began examining each of them one at a time. "I have been teaching you three the philosophies of the Sith and the Jedi hoping that you will be able to adapt to both and overcome their weakness. But I was wrong. Susan…you stay grounded but allow your emotions to rule your judgement more often than not. A trait of the Sith. Daphne. You are calm. Devoid of emotion. A Jedi through and through. And Harry…you are dangerously close to falling into the pitfall that is the Sith."

Pausing in her speech, his mother stepped back from them. "Despite our efforts, all of you have begun adapting to one code or the other. Not both."

None of them said anything. It was true. And Harry hated himself for it. He always leaned more towards the Sith Code. It made him feel…powerful.

"That changes today." His mother said drawing his attention back. "I have been in mediation for days for a specific reason. If this new order is to survive…we must transcend the Sith and the Jedi. Keep their teachings…but discard their codes. And forge one of our own. Hear well what I am about to say my apprentices. For this is your code."

" _There is no Dark Side nor a Light Side. There is only the Force. I will do what I must to keep the balance. The balance is what sustains me. There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish. There is passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order. I am the wielder of the flame, the protector of balance. I am the holder of the torch lighting the way. I am the keeper of the flame, the soldier of balance. I am a guardian of balance. We…are the Guardians."_

With each phrase his mother spoke, Harry felt something within himself stirring. When she spoke the last line…it almost felt as if the Force was…pleased. No. Not pleased. Overjoyed.

"This is your code." His mother said. "The Code of the Guardians. The keepers of the balance of life and death. Of light and dark, yet neither. Engrain this code into your mind, body and soul my apprentices. For it is the very foundation of our new order. The Order of the Guardians."

"Yes Master!"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey there everyone! Sorry for the delay on this chapter, but basically I wrote nearly all of it, and then cut out half of it because I didn't like it. So that's my excuse for the delay.**

 **Just wanted to send a huge thank you to everyone as this story hit, in my opinion, two more huge milestones! First is that this story has reached 1K Favorites! I honestly never expected this to happen when I started to pen this, and your guy's support has been unbelievable! Also, this story also reached 100k hits! Like I said…never expected this story to become so popular.**

 **Now…just as a warning I'm not quite sure when the next chapter will be released. The reason for this is two-fold. One: RL is rearing its ugly head and I've got a few things coming up that will make it difficult for me to find time to write. Second: I feel like in my effort to keep up the length and update speed, my writing has been suffering. So I'm going to be slowing down on my writing to try and bring it back up. (If you guys don't believe this to be the case please let me know).**

 **One last thing, I've gotten complaints about being too cannon compliant. This story will follow the cannon, with obvious changes, for a little while longer before taking a sharp left turn.**

 **Other than that, hope that you guys enjoy this chapter and again I would love to hear what you think! If you feel the need to critique, please be nice and constructive about it. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 13**

Sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, Harry felt lighter than he ever expected to feel while at school. A fact he owed greatly to the new code his mother had given Daphne, Susan, and himself before the break was over. He'd spent just about every waking moment for the rest of the break and whenever he could while on the train ride back meditating on the code. His anger, while still very prevalent, felt more…manageable now. He was no longer controlled by it. Sure he still had to fight the urge to cause bodily harm to Draco and Snape, especially after their first potion's class of the new semester earlier this morning when Draco had tried once more to sabotage his potion and then Snape took away points from Harry for calling him out on it. But the urge wasn't nearly as bad as it was at the end of the last semester.

"Are you alright Harry?" Ginny asked looking at him curiously.

Looking at her, Harry tried to suppress the nervousness he was feeling. Despite being back at Hogwarts and being around Ginny for several days, he had yet to breach the subject of their accidental bonding. He and his mother had had another long discussion about the intricacies about the bond and he knew that sooner or later he would have to come clean with Ginny. He was just…unsure about how to do so.

"Never better," he responded. "Why do you ask?"

Ginny looked at him curiously for a moment before shrugging and turning back to her dinner. "I don't know. You just seem…well lighter for some reason. But at the same time…nervous."

Harry could feel Ginny's own confusion through the bond. ' _Shite. Emotions are already starting to leak through the bond.'_ "Well…if I seem lighter it's because I had good break. Speaking of, how was your holiday?"

Ginny stared at him for a moment, then shrugged. "It was okay. I think mum was about to faint when Ron and I opened our presents from your mum."

"Tell me about it." Ron mumbled from across the table. "Two brand new Nimbus 2002's! Mum just about had a heart attack! She told us both that we'd better write thank you letters to her or neither of us would be able to sit for a month!"

"I need to thank your mother as well Harry." Hermione pipped up, her nose still buried in a large book and a half eaten plate of food on the table in front of her. "This book, _The Unsolved Mysteries and Myths of the Wizarding World,_ I've been looking to get it for ages! It's so…interesting and…and…."

"And she's gone." Ron chuckled as Hermione became completely engrossed in whatever passage she was currently reading. "Mental mate, I swear to you. She's just plain mental."

Shaking his head, Harry went back to picking at his dinner. Something's never changed.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Every head in the Great Hall snapped around as an older girl came running into the hall at a full sprint. She made it nearly halfway to the head table before collapsing in a heap. "Somethings out in the hall!" She screamed hysterically, curling into a ball on the floor. "It killed Daniel!"

What happened next was a cause of serious deja vu. Every student in the Great Hall stared at each other in silence for a second before screaming at the top of their lungs and then making a mad dash for the exit. Only difference this time was that before any student could leave, the massive doors to the Great Hall slammed shut. "Silence!"

Every head in the Great Hall turned towards the professors table. Dumbledore was on his feet and had his wand drawn. "Everyone return to your seats!"

Slowly, everyone made their way back to their house tables and retook their seats. "Good." Dumbledore said putting his wand away. "Everyone is to stay within the Great Hall for the time being. Our Head Boy and Girl will be in charge while the professors and I head out to investigate what happened. Madam Pomfrey please see to the young Ms. Henry. Prefects please keep an eye on your houses and do not allow anyone to leave until we return."

Harry had to hand it to the old man. Apparently he'd learned his lesson after the troll incident last year. Which left Harry with a quandary as he watched the professors file out of the Great Hall with their wands drawn. Just how was he supposed to figure out what'd just happened?

* * *

With his wand held aloft and all of his professors at his back, Dumbledore marched confidently through the halls of Hogwarts. ' _This isn't how I wanted to start the semester.'_ Dumbledore silently growled. ' _In fact…this is probably the last thing I needed right now.'_

Rounding another corner, Dumbledore came to an abrupt stop as he spotted Ms. Henry's companion laying completely still on the floor. He had both hands out in front of him as if he were trying to hold something back, a look of utter confusion and horror etched across his face.

"Daniel Smith." He heard Flitwick say before muttering more than a few unpleasant curses in gobbledegook.

Severus was the first to make a move. Kneeling down next to the boy his potions master waved his wand over the boy. "He's alive." Snape said frowning as he waved his wand again. "He's been…petrified Headmaster. By what or how I don't know. Madam Pomfrey will have to him over more thoroughly."

Dumbledore suddenly had a sense of déjà vu. And not in a good sense. He'd seen this type of attack before. Nearly sixty years ago now. An attack he'd hoped and prayed never to see it again. ' _But it can't be.'_ He thought furiously as the teachers began spreading out around him. ' _Riddle was the last Heir. No one else can open it.'_

"Headmaster!" Lockhart called out from his place a few paces ahead of the rest of them. "You're going to want to see this."

With more than a slight feeling of dread, Dumbledore made his way over towards Lockhart. Whatever or whoever had done this had left them a message. And the message confirmed everything that he'd feared. **"** _ **Enemies of Slytherin Beware! For the Chamber Has Been Opened!"**_

* * *

Taking a cup of tea off of the breakfast table, Lucius unfolded his morning edition of the daily prophet. The instant his eyes read the title he nearly spit out his tea. _**'Students Attacked at Hogwarts! Cryptic Message Points to Chamber of Secrets!'**_

 _ **'That's right readers! A student has been attacked within the walls of our sacred institution. Two students were said to have been involved in the attack, Elisa Henry (sixth year Hufflepuff) and Daniel Smith (seventh year Ravenclaw), both muggleborn. The attack occurred just after the first full day of classes after the winter holiday break during the students dinner hour. Daniel Smith is said to be in a comatose state and is failing to respond to any treatment that has been given to him.**_

 _ **'Elisa Henry was more fortunate as she managed to escape from whatever attacked the duo, however she has suffered a complete memory loose of the event and was unable to provide any information to the Aurors about what attacked them.**_

 _ **'Now, far be it from me to throw around wild accusations, but one has to wonder what two young students were doing alone in an abandoned section of the school while everyone else was at dinner-"**_

Setting down the paper, Lucius allowed himself to smile. Finally, after half a year the diary was starting to take effect. After so long with no word he'd begun to fear that the diary had either been intercepted or was ineffective for some reason. But now that he knew it was working, he could begin the second stage of his plans. And not a moment too soon either. He'd just about used up every favor and bribed just about everyone he could in order to delay the voting on Arthur's precious muggle protection bill until this summer.

But soon it would all pay off. Before the end of the year Ginny Weasley would be caught attacking muggleborn students. Her father would be disgraced. And as Arthur's benefactors, both Sirius and Nox would lose a considerable amount of clout within the wizenagmot. Yes…today was starting out wonderfully.

* * *

Within her large office in Grimmuald Place, Nox let out a small content sigh as she leaned her head back against her chair. Ever since she'd spoken the new code to her son she felt…different. Or rather the Force felt different. It was almost as if the Force was…pleased with what had transpired. And she could tell that the new code would do wonders for her son. He'd almost done a complete reversal after only a single day of mediating on the code. His anger, while still present, was more under control. He was thinking clearer now and came to realize the absurdity of what he wanted to do before he left for school once more. She cared greatly for her son and missed him while he was gone. But at times…there were advantages to his lack of presence. Like the one she was experiencing now for example.

Her peace came to a sudden and abrupt end as the door to her office was thrown open and a completely red faced Amelia stormed in with a pale Sirius right on her heels. "You have one chance Nox." Amelia growled before throwing a copy of the morning paper on her desk. "Did you have a hand in this?"

Moving her chair further under the desk, Nox picked up the paper. Across the very top was the headline, _**'Students Attacked at Hogwarts! Cryptic Message Points to Chamber of Secrets!'**_

Nox felt a cold anger course through her as she read the article. "No. I had no hand in this. And I can guarantee you that Harry did not have a hand in it either."

Amelia glared at her, a glare that Nox met unflinching. For several long moments the two women stared at each other in a battle of wills. As strong as she was, Amelia couldn't hold Nox's gaze for long. With a heavy sigh the head of the DMLE broke their gaze and sank down heavily into the seat across from Nox. "You must understand why I came to you first." She began. "You tell me that you found the Chamber of Secrets, and that you know what's guarding it. And less than two months later two students are attacked and a message is left saying that the Chamber has been opened once more."

"I understand." And she did. And Amelia was lucky that she was dealing with the new Nox and not Darth Nox. Darth Nox would've simply tortured her to death despite understanding. "But I had nothing to do with this. This…this was done by someone else."

"Dumbledore?" Sirius questioned.

"No," Nox shook her head before looking off to the side. "Dumbledore has kept his nose clean all year. No doubt he realizes just how close he came to losing his position as Headmaster last year. The last thing he needs is some sort of danger lurking about the school attacking students."

"Is it possible that good old Lucius slipped someone else another dark object?" Sirius asked, pulling up a seat opposite Nox.

"It's possible, but unlikely." Amelia said rubbing at her chin. "Now that I think about this more…I should've realized that despite the message…the chamber had nothing to do with this."

"Why?" Nox questioned leaning forward and resting her elbows on her desk. She already knew the answer, but wanted to see if Amelia had figured it out as quickly as she had.

"Because there was a survivor that was untouched." Amelia said nodding towards the paper. "If what you said was true and there is a basilisk down in the Chamber, she would've either been petrified like her companion. Or she would be dead. No one can simply out run a basilisk on foot."

"So what are we going to do about this?" Sirius asked looking back and forth at the two of them. "Someone, or something, is attacking students at Hogwarts and trying to blame the Chamber of Secrets."

"You two are not going to do anything. This is a DMLE matter at the moment. I may take you both on as consultants in the future but that is it." Amelia said in a tone that brokered no argument. "After I leave here I will be heading to Hogwarts to have a 'chat' with Dumbledore. I want to know why I, the head of the DMLE, had to learn about this incident from the morning paper instead of from him."

"I agree." Nox said, surprising both of them. "This incident involves neither Voldemort nor the Chamber, so quite frankly I have no interest in getting involved. I will help if necessary or if Harry's life is at risk. But that is all."

"Good." Amelia said rising from her seat. "Then I will speak to you both later. Sirius. Nox."

After Amelia left, Sirius was left looking around her office awkwardly. "Well then," he finally said after several long moments of silence. "I guess I'll head into the Ministry and see what kind of road block Lucius has come up with this time to stall the vote on our bill."

"You do that Sirius." Nox said letting her head fall back against her head rest. After the door closed behind him, Nox opened one eye. "You can come out now."

"Merlin's balls that was close." A voice called out from beneath her desk.

Rolling her seat back slightly, a thoroughly disheveled Tonks made her way out from under her desk. "It was fun though."

Tonks grinned at her. "Yeah, fun. Nothing like almost getting caught under your lover's desk by your boss and your cousin." Straightening her clothes, Tonks glanced towards the door. "Well…I guess I better head into work. I have a feeling that good ol'Dumples is gonna be contacting me as soon as Bones is done with him."

"Without a doubt."

Biting her lip, Tonks looked back at her. "Sooo…when can I see you again?"

"Whenever you want." Nox said rising from her seat and approaching the younger woman. "You know exactly where I am."

"Do I ever." Tonks grinned for a moment before faltering. "Well…I guess I should go."

Smirking, Nox quickly closed the distance between the two, grabbed Tonks behind the neck, pulled her in and roughly slammed their lips together. "There." Nox breathed, letting the now wobbly girl go. "Now you can go."

Tonks gave her one last saucy grin before turning and leaving her office.

Now alone, Nox made her way back behind her desk and sat down heavily. Her relationship with Tonks was…difficult for her. No one had touched her since Ashara, and a large part of Nox reveled in having the younger woman at her beck and call. But another part…it almost felt like she was betraying Ashara, her memory, whenever she was with her.

 _"But you're not. I told you a long time ago…you cannot be alone beloved."_

Nox sat bolt upright when she heard the voice that she'd been longing to hear for so long. "Ashara?" She gasped looking around her office. But there was no response. And there was no other presence even in the house besides herself and the Kreacher.

Settling back in her seat, she closed her eyes. "You've become one with the Force." She whispered. "One day we will see each other again beloved. But not yet. Not yet."

* * *

Up on the seventh floor of Hogwarts, Harry stared out of the window his groups temporary study hall at the snow covered grounds of Hogwarts as he waited patiently for the rest of his 'inner circle' to arrive. It'd been two weeks since the attack on the two older students. And while there hadn't been any attacks since then, life at Hogwarts had changed and not for the better.

Despite Dumbledore's best efforts to keep the details about what happened quiet, word had still gotten out about what had happened. And the very next morning after the attack the entire school knew what was had happened on thanks to the Daily Prophet publishing every detail possible. ' _Although,'_ Harry mused with a slight smile, ' _it was more than slightly entertaining to watch Madam Bones come into the Great Hall at breakfast and pretty much drag the old man out by his ear.'_

Word had spread through the castle like wildfire, and by noon not a single student didn't know what had happened. The muggleborns were naturally terrified and started traveling together in large groups no matter their houses. The Slytherin's, confident that they were not in danger, had jumped on their fear like a pack of hungry predators. The taunts coming from the house of snakes were endless and not just limited to the muggleborns. Anyone they considered to be unworthy of attending Hogwarts suddenly found themselves on the receiving end of the Slytherins attention.

The Professors were trying desperately to reign in the Slytherin's, but taking of house points or detentions did little to deter them. Especially seeing as how Snape would usually find some way to negate their points lost or cancel their detentions.

Harry had written his mother as soon as he could asking if she knew what was going on. Her response was…strange to say the least. She'd told him to let the DMLE handle matters for the moment. But if the attacks continued then he was to try and intervene. But one point she did stress was that whatever was going on had absolutely nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets. Although how she knew that Harry had no idea.

Feeling a slight shift in the Force, Harry turned with a smirk towards the door as thoughts of the Chamber left him. Today was the day that he would be stepping up his circles training.

The door opened allowing all seven members of his little group to enter. ' _At least some of them took my advice.'_ He thought as everyone piled into the room.

Daphne and Susan were both dressed in what could be considered 'muggle' workout clothes, as where Tracey and Hannah. Although the latter two definitely looked more out of place then the former two. Ginny was wearing her practice robes that she always wore to quidditch and Luna had on mismatched set of baggy clothes. The only two were not properly dressed for the day were Ron and Hermione. Both of whom were still wearing their school robes. Hermione he could at least understand. His friend had had her nose permanently buried in one of a dozen different books ever since the attack two weeks ago. He doubted that she even realized that she was still wearing the same robes as yesterday.

"Well then…let's get started." Harry said taking a few steps towards the group. "First though, a pop quiz. What's the best defense against a spell…Hermione?"

Hermione blinked, then looked up sharply from her book. "What? Oh…umm…what was the question?"

Smirking, Harry closed her book making his bookworm friend blush. "I asked, what's the best defense against a spell?"

Hermione didn't even hesitate with her answer. "The _protego_ charm. When used with _maxima_ it can form a virtually impenetrable barrier around the body that will protect you from anything short of the Unforgiveable Curses."

"Okay." Moving back across the room he stood still with his arms spread out to his sides. "Throw a spell at me."

Hermione looked at him quizzically for a second, but drew her wand none the less. With a simple flick of her wand she sent a disarming charm at him, and he calmly stepped to the side and let it pass him by.

Raising his own wand he shot back with a disarming charm of his own. The spell took her completely by surprise, knocking her down onto her backside and sending her wand flying through the air. "A _protego_ charm can work." Harry said catching her wand. "But the best defense is to simply not be there. That's how I was able to beat Malfoy so easily. He could've cast spells until he was blue in the face and I wouldn't have even broken a sweat."

"Point taken." Hermione grumbled getting back up to her feet and taking her wand back.

"Good," Harry said helping Hermione back to her feet. "Next question, what do you do when you no longer have a wand? Hannah?"

"Wha – oh. Um, summon it back?" Hannah answered wringing her hands together.

"That could work." Harry admitted. "But what do you do if you're wand is broken or whoever you're up against has it?"

When Hannah didn't have an answer, he motioned for both her and Daphne to step forward. After casting a cushioning charm onto the floor, he had the two face one another. "Alright, Daphne don't use your wand. Hannah, you can use your magic to try and subdue Daphne. Ready…go."

Before Hannah could even raise her wand, Daphne had closed the distance between the two of them, grabbed Hannah by the arm, flipped her over her shoulder, and locked her arm in place with an upright arm-bar. "Any questions?" Daphne asked as she helped Hannah up to her feet.

"So…what are we going to be doing then?" Tracey asked. "Have some kind of muggle group fitness class?"

"Something like that." Harry nodded.

"But how will this help our magic Harry?" Ron asked rubbing the back of his head. "I mean the sn – I mean Daphne made it look useful just now. But I don't see how sweating or bums off will help."

"Do you think Auror's and Hit Wizard's rely on their magic for everything Ronald?" Susan asked. "The first year of training for either is pretty much purely physical. In fact, my aunt has requested pretty much yearly that sixth and seventh years be required to take part in a physical fitness class. Unfortunately the Board of Governors always overrules her request."

"Not to mention quidditch Ronald." Ginny added, which made Ron perk up. "I've had to start training outside of practice just to keep up with the rest of the team!"

"Okay, you made your point." Ron surrendered. "So…what are we going to be doing?"

"Well, seeing as how the ground is still covered in about a foot or two of snow running is out of the question." Harry said pointing towards the snow covered window. "So I figure that we could start with some…basics if you will."

The next three hours proved to be quite grueling for the five new comers, and fairly entertaining for Harry, Daphne and Susan. While nowhere near the level that his mother had trained them at, the trio still did not take it easy on their students. They started the session with stretching before moving on to calisthenics. After that, they started teaching the group the basics of several different martial arts before advancing immediately to practical application. By the end of the three hours Hermione and Ron had both shed their heavy school robes, but they were still laying on their backs gasping desperately for breath.

Luna, Hannah and Tracey were only slightly better off. They were still gasping for breath and were covered in sweat, but none of them were laying on the floor. Ginny was in the best of shape of the six of them. She wasn't breathing as hard as the others, but she looked better off than any of them. A fact that Harry contributed greatly to the hours she spent each week training for quidditch.

As for Susan, Daphne and himself; none of them were breathing hard at all. And the only show that they'd been physically exercising was a light sheen of sweat across each of their brows. "Well, that was good for a first day." Harry said going over to Hermione and Ron and helping them up off the floor. "Next week we'll go a harder."

"Harder?" Tracey gasped. "Wasn't…this hard…enough?"

"This was hard?" Daphne asked looking at the six gasping preteens. "This was nothing compared to what Harry's mother makes us do. I still have nightmares about that day she made us run."

"Running…doesn't sound too bad." Ginny said standing upright and taking several deep breathes.

"For a full day Ginny." Harry clarified. "She had us run as hard as we could for a full day. We weren't allowed to stop moving. No bathroom breaks, no water breaks, no sleep. For a whole day."

"Merlin's beard." Hermione gasped getting up to her knees. "Y – you're not...going to make us – us do that…right?"

"Of course not." Susan chuckled making everyone breathe a sigh of relief. "It's still snowing out. We'll have to wait until the snow is gone to run all day."

All six paled significantly as they realized that Susan was kidding. "But that's for another day." Harry smirked. He had to admit…it was kind of fun watching his friends try to go through what he'd already gone through. "I think we've all had enough for one day."

"Oh good." Luna said arching her back. "I'm sore in places I've never even heard of before."

"Oh just wait for tomorrow Luna." Ginny smirked. "One universal rule I've learned from Woods torture sessions, or as he calls them 'practice'. It always hurts more the day after."

None of them looked too pleased with what Ginny had just said, but unfortunately it was the truth. Harry had spent more than one day wishing for death after his more had pushed him and the girls to the breaking point. "Come on." Harry laughed. "I'm sure if we hurry we can all get a shower in and then get some food from the Great Hall before it closes."

At the mention of 'Ron' instantly perked up and almost ran Harry over trying to get the door. Together the group made their way down from the seventh floor towards the third where they would separate to their respective dormitories. Harry, Daphne, Susan, and even Ginny were all treated to quite a show as their friends fumbled their ways down the hundreds of stairs that connected the seventh floor to the third.

As they stepped foot onto the fourth floor, Harry was nearly run over by a group of Ravenclaw's that were nearly sprinting in the direction of their common room. "I wonder if the nargles are after them again." Luna said as she watched her housemates run by. "Or maybe their trying to out run the wrackspurts."

"What are all of you doing out in the halls!?"

Ron groaned as his elder brother Percy skidded to a stop in front of them. Risking a quick glance behind him, Harry was amazed that Daphne and Tracey were no longer with them. In fact they were already on the next floor down. ' _Not quite sure just how they managed to do that.'_

"Didn't you hear me?" Percy hissed, his face turning slightly red. "What are you seven still doing out of your common rooms? And why are you all sweating?"

"We were exercising Percy." Ginny answered quickly. "Now hurry up and get on your soap box about how bad we all are so we can get out of here and shower."

Percy sniffed and raised his nose up in the air. "I'm a Prefect Ginny!"  
"And you know that means nothing to be bother dearest." Ginny shot back sweetly.

"Why are we supposed to be in our common rooms?" Harry asked as he saw that Percy was reaching his boiling point. Quite literally too if the redness of his face was anything to go off of. "Curfew isn't for another couple of hours."

Percy seemed to calm down slightly, but he was still holding his nose up. "Well, if you seven had been paying attention instead of doing…whatever you were doing. You would know that the Headmaster has ordered everyone back to their dormitories immediately."

"Why?" Hermione gasped.

"Because there's been another attack." Percy answered harshly, glaring at each of them in turn. "Colin Creevey from Gryffindor and Justin Finch-Fletchley have both been petrified and are in the hospital wing."

Harry heart skipped a beat as he could feel the blood leaving his face. ' _This isn't good.'_

* * *

Holding his lightsaber behind him in a Djem So guard with his wand held in front of him, Harry squared off alone against four ethereal copies of himself that the Room of Requirement had created for him. It'd been two weeks since the last attack, and yet still no one had any inkling about what was attacking the students or who was behind the attacks. Lockhart, in one of his few moments of actual teaching, had actually made everyone from first year to seventh write a foot long essay on the Chamber of Secrets.

Sensing the movement to his left, Harry spun around and caught his opponent's blade against his lightsaber before using his wand to blast the figure into nothingness.

Ever since the second attack, just about everyone in the school had started researching the chamber of secrets in hopes of finding it. Hermione was spending every waking moment outside of classes and their group training sessions in the library. Strangely enough, the book she seemed to be spending the most time on was the book that his mother had given her for Christmas.

And according to Luna, an entire wall within the Ravenclaw common room had been converted into a research board where everyone would either write or pin up any clues that they were able to uncover about the chamber. So far the wall was still nearly completely bare.

Catching a blur in the corner of his eye, Harry conjured a shield to absorb the strike that'd been aimed at his head before stabbing back and running his opponent through the chest with his lightsaber. Then raising his wand in the air, he detonated a shockwave that knocked the remaining two copies off balance. Before they could recover, Harry threw is lightsaber. The blade spun horizontally through the air, slicing cleaning through both copies before arching back around so Harry could catch it.

"Time."

A large clock appeared in front of him indicating that it was nearly two in the afternoon. ' _The game starts in fifteen minutes.'_ He sighed retracting his lightsaber and re-holstering it on his wrist. ' _I would prefer to stay and practice some more…but I think Ginny would be more than a little put out with me if I miss her second quidditch game ever.'_

And speaking of Ginny, Harry had still yet to tell her about the bond they now shared. He'd told both Daphne and Susan about it hoping that they would be able to help him break the news to Ginny. But neither were really any help.

' _That's an understatement.'_ He scoffed to himself as he left the room of requirement and started making his way through the castle. ' _They just laughed at me and wished me luck._ ' Long story short…he was on his own concerning Ginny.

As he reached the first floor and started heading for the exit, a voice called out behind him pulling him up short. "Mr. Potter!"

Turning around, Harry saw his head of house walking towards him. "Professor McGonagall." Harry nodded. "Is there a problem? I was just about to head out to the quidditch game."

"The game has been cancelled Mr. Potter." She said. "I need you to come with me."

Her tone made Harry blink. One of the many things that he respected about his head of house was the fact that little could phase her. But at the moment her tone was…worried. "Is there something wrong Professor?"

If he wasn't worried before, he now was as McGonagall pursed her lips. "It would be best for you to see this with your own eyes Potter."

Harry was left with no other option than to follow as McGonagall turned and marched away from him. The two walked in complete silence as McGonagall led him through Hogwarts. An uneasy feeling began forming in his gut as he started to realize just where McGonagall was taking him. ' _This leads to the hospital wing…oh no…oh no…"_

Upon entering the hospital wing, McGonagall led him down the rows of beds until they reached the end where a partition wall had been set up to separate the last two beds from the rest. As they came around the cloth wall and he saw Hagrid sitting next to the bed and weeping heavily. But Harry's attention was immediately drawn to the bed and its occupant. Hermione was laying on the bed. Her body frozen with one hand in her pocket and the other held outwards.

"Hagrid found her near the library with Ms. Clearwater." McGonagall explained as she moved to stand beside the bed. "Both were petrified and Hermione was holding a mirror in her hand."

McGonagall kept talking, but Harry had long since stopped paying attention to her. Rage. Red hot boiling rage began swelling within Harry. Someone had set whatever was attacking the students in the castle on Hermione! Death would be too good for whoever was responsible for this! He would make sure that they suffered like no other! HE would have them screaming, begging for the sweet release of death only to deny them the –

' _Shite.'_ Harry cursed, forcing his gaze away from Hermione. ' _Calm down Harry! This isn't the time for brash action! Breathe. Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order.'_

Repeating the code like a mantra in his head, Harry slowly calmed down. When he finally felt he had control of himself once more, he opened his eyes. Both McGonagall and Hagrid were staring worryingly at him. "I'm sorry." He said looking back towards Hermione.

"We're 'he one's that'r sorry Harry." Hagrid sobbed.

Hearing the door's to the hospital wing open, followed quickly by the sound of raised voices, Harry poked his head around the partition wall. Dumbledore, along with a man that Harry recognized from Sirius and his mother's description as Cornelius Fudge and a woman who looked part toad were marching past the beds and towards Harry.

"-understand Dumbledore! The Ministry has to be seen doing something about this!" Cornelius was saying. "Three attacks in less than two months! Five muggleborns are petrified and one has suffered such severe trauma that she had to be transferred to the mind ward of St. Mungo's. We can't just do nothing!"

"I understand Minister." Dumbledore said calmly, but Harry could detect no small amount of frustration laced in his voice. "But this course of action is pointless."

"His record is against him." The toad woman said haughtily. "The Minister has every right to take this course of action."

"And I still say you are making a mistake Minister." Dumbledore said levelly as the trio rounded the curtain.

"Albus?" McGonagall asked before looking at the other two. "Minister. Madam Undersecretary."

"Professor McGonagall." The Minster greeted before turning his attention to Harry. "And young Mr. Potter. What – what are you doing here?"

"Hermione is one of my best friends." Harry answered, sitting down next to his petrified friend and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Where else would I be?"

"Umm, quite right." The Minister responded awkwardly. "Well…perhaps it would be best if you went outside for a moment. I have things to discus with-"

"Whatever you have to say, just say it." Harry countered sharply.

"How dare you take that tone young man!" The toad woman hissed. "This is the Minster of Magic! You must show him proper respect you insolen-"

"Dolores," The Minster said cutting her off. "I'm sure that Mr. Potter is just under a lot of stress. But…well if he wants to stay then so be it. He isn't who we came to find. Hagrid, you need to come with us."

"What?" Hagrid bellowed. "What do ya mean I need to com' with you?"

"The Ministry is now taking an active hand into this matter Mr. Hagrid." The toad woman, Dolores, said. "And your record speaks for itself in this manner. You are to come with us. Resist and we will return with Hit Wizards to escort you to where you belong."

"What?" Hagrid asked frantically. "What do ya – no! I didn't do nothin'! You can't take me to Azkaban!"

"I've told you Minister that this course of action is a fool's errand." Dumbledore said, stepping over so he was between Hagrid and the Minister. "Hagrid was neither charge let alone convicted of what happened seventy years ago."

The Minister however wasn't deterred. "Be that as it may Headmaster, his record speaks for itself. And the Ministry must be seeing doing something about these attacks."

"So you're going to arrest an innocent man so that you can be seen as 'doing something'?"

Fudge and Dolores both turned towards the entrance to the hospital wing and Harry couldn't help but smirk as he saw both of them deflate slightly. ' _Although…if not for my mother I would say that Amelia Bones would undoubtedly be the most intimidating woman on the planet!'_

"Madam Bones." Fudge stammered. "W-what are you doing her-"

"I'm here to keep you from making an arse of yourself Fudge."

"Have some respect!" Dolores shouted, her face turning an interesting shade of red. "Cornelius is the Minister of Magic and your boss Madam Bones!"  
"And he is currently way overstepping his authority." Whatever Amelia was going to say next died on her lips as she rounded the cloth curtain and saw Harry. "Harry. Are you okay?"

Nodding, Harry turned his focus back to Hermione. "I'm okay…she's not."

"We'll find out who's doing this Harry." Madam Bones promised placing a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "I promise you."

"And we were doing just that before you came in and interrupted us!"

With a shake of her head, Amelia squared off with the toad woman. "This is an active DMLE investigation Dolores. As far as the letter of the law is concerned, it is you and the Minister that are currently overstepping your authority. Now, if you two will please step aside, I wish to speak with Hagrid."

"With me?" Hagrid asked looking frantically between Amelia, Fudge, and Dolores.

"Yes," Amelia nodded slowly. "Despite their complete disregard for proper protocol…I must ask you to come with me Hagrid."

"One moment please Amelia." Dumbledore said raising his hands in a calming gesture. "You cannot honestly believe that Hagrid is responsible for-"

"I don't." Amelia answered quickly. "But in the end, he is the only one who might be able to shed some light on the current situation. But I do believe that Azkaban would slightly overkill. So if you would Hagrid, I would appreciate it if you would accompany me to the DMLE with me so we can talk. And…unfortunately in the interested in clearing your name I must ask that you remain in the DMLE holding cells until this matter is cleared up."

Hagrid sighed, but slowly nodded his head. "Alrighty Madam Bones. I'll go with ya."

"Minister Fudge, Madam Umbridge, Madam Bones. I can honestly say that I was not expecting to see all of you here. But perhaps your presence is for the best."

Harry had to squeeze his eyes shut and repeat the code several times as he heard the unmistakable drawl of Lucius Malfoy. ' _Honestly…does this castle have a revolving door for anyone who wants to come in?'_

"Lord Malfoy." Fudge visibly brightened. "What brings you here on today?"

"I'm afraid my dear Minister that I must have words with the Headmaster."

Dumbledore, obviously not wanting Lucius to round the corner and see Harry and Hermione, strode out from behind the curtain. "What can I do for you today?"

Leaning back, Harry could just barely see through a small break in one of the joining sections of the curtain. Lucius was standing in the middle of the hospital wing, smiling, and holding onto a piece of parchment. "I've come to remove you Headmaster." Lucius smiled handing the parchment off to Dumbledore. "After last year's debacle, and now three attacks in as many months, the Board of Governors have lost our faith in your ability to properly look after this school."

"Hogwash!" Hagrid shouted rounding the curtain. "You can't take Dumbledore away from here! There'll be killin's next mark my words!"

"Oh? Is that a threat Hagrid?" Lucius drawled, completely unperturbed by the beast of a man standing in front of him. "And in front of the Minister, the Undersecretary and the Head of the DMLE. And weren't you already supposed to be rotting in Azkaban? After all, you were the one thought to have opened the chamber seventy years ago."

"He was never charged nor found guilty of that crime Lucius." Madam Bones said stepping forward. "And I am curious as to how you were privy to Hagrid's impending imprisonment when I myself wasn't even informed."

That took some of the wind out of Lucius's sails, and the Minister visibly flinched. ' _Wonder how much Lucius paid off Fudge for that little tidbit. Or maybe he was the one who suggested that Hagrid be arrested in the first place. Either way…if he wasn't already on top of my shite list for what he tried to do to Ginny…he certainly is now.'_

"Albus." McGonagall called out cautiously.

"It's alright Minerva." Dumbledore said, rolling up the parchment and tucking it into his robes. "If the governors wish for my removal…then I will honor their request."

"Good." Lucius smiled. "Then I highly suggest that you leave before the end of the day. A replacement will be appointed by myself and the other governors later today."

"Actually Lucius that will be unnecessary." Dumbledore countered. "According to the bylaws when the Headmaster is removed, either voluntarily or by vote, the Deputy Headmaster or Headmistress will take over their responsibilities for the rest of the year. Surely, as a Governor yourself, you do remember this clause?"

Lucius did not look pleased in the slightest. "Yes…I remember. Very well then, Madam McGonagall the school is yours until the end of the year and a _proper_ Headmaster can be selected."

Harry tuned the rest of the conversation out as the adults slowly made their way out of the hospital wing. ' _Force.'_ Harry breathed. ' _Not even two years at Hogwarts…and already things have gone from bad to worse both years.'_

* * *

Sitting beside the petrified Hermione, Harry was silent as he tried and tried again to work out the puzzle of what had been happening. And he wasn't alone either, after the attack on Hermione and the subsequent removal of both Headmaster Dumbledore and Hagrid, the rest of his friends had joined in on his search as well. But despite weeks of research, they were no closer to finding and answer than they were when they started.

The main problem was the fact that there was so little evidence about what was even going on in the first place. Each attack had taken place completely out of sight of any portraits or other students so there were no witnesses to question. The aftermath of the attacks always left two students petrified by some sort of spell that even Madam Pomfrey couldn't identify. There were no tracks or distinguishing marks left behind by the attacker. And at each attack a message had been left behind on the wall stating that the 'Chamber' had been opened.

A not so small part of him wanted to write his mother again to see if she had any further inkling as to just what in the name of the Force was going on. But another part of him didn't. As she had pointed out before…she wouldn't always be around to hold his hand. He needed to start figuring things out for himself.

' _And a great job you're doing of it too.'_ He cursed himself. ' _Three attacks…five victims that are petrified and one that is out of her mind. And you have absolutely nothing to show for it. Congratulations Harry.'_

"Hey there Harry."

Turning to look of his shoulder, he spotted Ron walking towards him. "Ron."

Ron slowed as he walked around Hermione's bed before taking the seat on the opposite side. "How…how is she?"

"The same as she was yesterday." Harry snapped. Then seeing Ron flinch slightly he softened his tone. "Sorry Ron. It's just…"

"No worries mate, I understand."

The two settled into an uneasy silence as they both watched over Hermione's frozen form. "Damn it." Harry hissed softly, reaching out and grasping Hermione's hand that was still in her pocket. "I sure could use your help at the moment Hermione."

Grasping her hand slightly Harry tried to give his friend some measure of comfort, whether she could feel it or not. But then he frowned as he felt something in her pocket. As gently as he could, he moved his hand beside her own and into her pocket. "Harry?" Ron asked as Harry adjusted his hand so he could grab hold of whatever was in her pocket.

When he pulled his hand out he found himself holding two pieces of paper that looked like they'd been hastily torn out of a book. "Harry?" Ron pressed again getting up from his seat. "What is that?"

"Ron…" Harry breathed as he read over both sheets of paper. "This is why Hermione was near the library! She figured it out!"

Handing over the first piece of paper, Ron's eyes widened considerably as he read it over. "A – a basilisk?"

"It makes sense." Harry responded reading over the second page, which detailed the first time the Chamber had been opened seventy years ago. Along the top of the page in Hermione's neat script were the words 'Moaning Myrtle'. "And she figured out who we need to talk to ab-"

An 'overload of senses' was the only term Harry could use to describe what happened next. Anger. Fear. Confusion. Frustration. And the choking sense of betrayal. The emotions didn't just impact his mental barriers, they completely shredded them until there was nothing left. Harry was vaguely aware of the ground rushing up to meet him as all of the air was forced from his lungs. And then without warning the feelings vanished from his mind.

Gasping for breath, he reached out with the Force trying to identify where the barrage could've come from. When he didn't find anything he reigned his senses back in, and that was when he felt it. His bond with Ginny wasn't severed…but it was muted to the point of almost being nonexistent.

"Harry!" Ron was nearly screaming next to Harry. "Harry! Are you alright mate?"

"Yeah." Harry winced shaking his head. "Not deaf."

Ron bit his lip. "Sorry mate. It's just…well you were kind of out of there for a few minutes."

"I – what?"

"I said you were out of it for a couple of minutes Harry." Ron repeated. "What happened?"

"I – oh shite. Ginny!"

"Ginny?" Ron asked looking around. "Where – what about her?"

"She's in trouble." Harry hissed as he regained his footing. "We need to find her. Now!"

"Harry!" Ron shouted as Harry turned towards the door. "What are you – I mean how could you know that Ginny is in trouble mate? You're not making any sense!"

Clenching his eyes shut, he turned back to his friend. "Just…trust me Ron. We need to find Ginny an-"

 _ **"All students are to return to their dormitories immediately! All teachers report to the second floor east corridor as soon as possible!"**_

"Shite!" Harry cursed again, only this time he didn't wait to see if Ron was following him or not.

Pushing himself as hard as he could, Harry sprinted, vaulted, climbed, and jumped his way through the castle in his effort to reach the second floor corridor as fast as he could. Taking the last staircase leading to destination two steps at a time, Harry skidded to a stop as he crested the top of the stairs. _**'Their bones will rest for eternity in the Chamber!'**_ Had been written in large blood red letters across the wall. And there were no signs of Ginny anywhere in the area.

"Harry!" A breathless Ron called out from behind him. "Merlin mate! Where did you learn to-"

Slapping his hand over Ron's mouth, Harry pulled Ron back into a darkened alcove within the hall just as all of the teachers came running around the corner opposite from them. "Here it is…" They heard McGonagall say breathlessly. "Our worst fears have been realized…two students have been taken down into the Chamber by the creature. I'm afraid that we now have no choice…come morning we will close down the school and send the students home."

"Who was it Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey asked as they watched Snape take a step closer to the wall to inspect the red writing. "Who has been taken?"

Even from behind, Harry could see his head of house stiffen and he could feel the sorrow pouring off of her. "Luna Lovegood…and Ginny Weasley."

Harry had to redouble his efforts to try and keep Ron still as his friend started squirming the mention his sister's name. "Quiet Ron!" He hissed, peaking around their hiding place to make sure that they hadn't been spotted.

"Ah! There you all are. Sorry about being late and all. Dozed off I'm afraid. So what's the problem?"

All of the teachers turned as Lockhart casually strolled up to where they were gathered. "Two girls have been snatched by the monster Lockhart." Snape drawled, drawing the fraud up short. "It appears that your moment has come at last."

Lockhart's eyes widened and he started stammering. "M-m-my moment?"

"Of course Gilderoy." McGonagall continued sarcastically. "Weren't you just yesterday telling us all how you've figured out not only where the Chamber is located? And what the guardian is as well? I'm sure with your 'legendary' skills it will be no match for you."

Lockhart remained silent for a few seconds, before responding in his normal cheerful voice. "Of course I do my dear McGonagall. Now if you'll all excuse me I'll be on my way to retrieve the two girls." And with that Lockhart turned tail and all but ran away from the others.

"Well…now that _he's_ gone we can actually get to work."

"Minerva?" Madam Pomfrey questioned.

"I'm not about to let this school close without a fight." McGonagall said harshly. "We'll make sure that the prefects keep the students in their dorms and then we start searching this school from top to bottom. Use the portraits. The suits of armor. Anything and everything you can think of. I will not let this monster claim two of our students. Now let's move."

Watching the teachers hastily move away, Harry let go of Ron and let his head fall back against the wall. ' _Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order. Think Harry! Don't just rush off…she can't have gotten far.'_

Closing his eyes, Harry opened himself up fully to the Force. While the bond between the two was nowhere near complete, with enough focus he'd been able to locate her in the past. He just hoped that he would be able to do so again with their bond muted as it was. "Harry!" Ron gasped shaking his shoulder and breaking his concertation. "Look!"

More than slightly annoyed, Harry looked where Ron was pointing. The blood red letters adoring the wall were almost taunting him with their message.

"Harry! We need to do something." Ron begged. "First Hermione…now Ginny. I – I can't lose my sister Harry! I just can't!"

"I'm trying to find her." Harry hissed, focusing once more on the bond. "Just be quiet for a moment."

Going down to his knees, Harry closed his eyes and opened himself to the living Force once more. Whatever had happened to Ginny had muted their bond almost to the point of non-existence. ' _Come on…'_ Harry willed concentrating harder as he tried to follow the bond. ' _Where are you Ginny…I can…almost…damn it! Why can't I find her?'_

"Shite," Harry cursed opening his eyes and rising to his feet. "I can't find her."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked wearily. "Can you…how can you-"

"I'll explain later Ron." Harry sighed, this wasn't the time or place to have _that_ conversation. "But now is not the time. Come on."

"Where are you going?" Ron asked as Harry half jogged back down the way they came.

"To the only lead we have at the moment Ron." Harry threw back over his shoulder as they neared the bottom of the stairs. "Moaning Myrt – whoa!"

At the bottom of the stairs Harry and Ron nearly ran headlong into a foursome of young witches. Daphne and Susan were standing just slightly in front of their friends, and both looked more than slightly put out. "I figured that we would find you here." Daphne said levelly. "And where do you think you are off to in such a hurry Harry?"

For one of the very first times in his short life, Harry had absolutely no idea what to say. "Daphne…Susan…well you see umm I uhh-"

"I'm sure that you were just about to come and find us." Susan said rhetorically. "And even if you weren't…you were. Now, what happened up on the second floor?"

Harry and Ron looked at each other for a moment before looking back at the girls. "Ginny and Luna were attacked." Harry said making Tracey gasp and the other girls go pale. "But…they're missing. The message left behind said that they were taken into the Chamber of Secrets."

"Have you tried locating Ginny through…well you know." Daphne asked thankfully skirting around the issue of his and Ginny's bond.

"Yes, but I can't find her. Her presence has been…muted somehow. "Pulling out the pages from within his robes, he handed them off to Daphne. "Hermione figured out where the Chamber is and what's in it."  
The girls looked at the pages, and each of the paled as they read them over. "A basilisk!?" Hannah gasped. "Dear Merlin…how…I mean there is no way we're going after that right?"

"My sister's been taken by that thing!" Ron nearly shouted. "If you don't want to go then stay here!"  
"There's a difference between bravery and suicide Ronald." Tracey said defensively. "Stop thinking like a Gryffindor for a moment will you?"

Daphne, who until that point had been silently reading over the papers, looked up at Harry. "Harry…this doesn't make any sense. A basilisk, if that is what the monster is, wouldn't leave survivors."  
Her statement silenced everyone. "I know." Harry nodded. "But this is the only lead that we have the moment."

Looking back down at the papers in her hand, Daphne bit her lip and nodded. "Alright Harry, we'll follow your lead."

"Good." Harry nodded taking the papers back from Daphne and shoving them back into the depths of his robes. "Then let's get moving."

No one spoke as they made their way towards the girl's bathroom. After a few minutes of silent walking, Daphne pulled up short in front of a large set of double doors. "This is it." She announced pointing to the doors. "Harry and Ron stay here a moment."

"Why?" Ron asked looking around.

"Because this is the girl's bathroom Ronald." Susan sighed as she opened the door. "Boys."

Standing with Ron, Hannah, and Tracey, Harry waited as Susan and Daphne went into the bathroom. The two were inside for less than a minute before coming back out. "Alright no ones in there." Daphne said poking her head back out the door.

"Alright," Harry nodded turning towards Ron and Hannah, "you two stay out here and keep a lookout."

"Why?" Hannah asked while Ron didn't look pleased about being left behind.

"Because we don't know if this is it or if they've even arrived yet." Harry answered as he stepped through the door that Daphne was holding open. "So you two are going to keep an eye out."

The interior of the bathroom was a lot larger than Harry had expected. There were two rows of a dozen stalls lining both walls and a large six place sink column in the center of the bathroom. "Alright." Harry said as he, Daphne, Susan and Tracey. "Let's look around."

"For what?" Tracey asked walking towards the stalls.

"The Chamber was built by Slytherin himself." Daphne replied. "I'd say look for anything with a snake on it."

"What are all of you doing in here?"

The group of four whipped around and leveled their wands in the direction the voice came from. A ghost of a young girl was staring at them, half in and half out of a stall partition wall. "Are you Myrtle?" Harry asked lowering his wand.

"Why?" The ghost asked floating out of the stall fully. "Have you come to make fun of poor Moaning Myrtle? Poor Myrtle with her big glasses…no one cares about Myrtle."

"No." Harry said quickly as the ghost started sobbing. "We…we came to ask about the day you died."

Myrtle's sobbing stopped instantly. "Why?"

"Because whatever happened to you is happening again Myrtle." Harry answered. "And we need your help to stop if from hurting our friends."

Harry wasn't sure if a ghost was even capable of being blushing, but Myrtle's sudden bashfulness was probably as close as they got. "You…you need my help? You're not just going to tease me?"

"No." Daphne said coming forward. "We really do need your help Myrtle. If you can remember anything from the day you died please, tell us."

Myrtle took her time looking at each of them before nodding. "Well…Olive was teasing me horribly about my glasses, so I came in here to hide. Then…then I heard a man's voice outside the stall I was hiding in and then…and then I died."

"How did you die?" Harry pressed as calmly as he could. They couldn't afford to aggravate this ghost.

Myrtle turned towards him and tilted her head to the side. "Well…all that I remember is seeing a pair of big yellow evil eyes coming out of that sink."

Turning towards the sink, he nodded for Susan and Tracey to start looking it over before turning back towards Myrtle. "Thank you Myrtle. You've been a huge help. One more question, has anyone else come in here today?"

"Y-you…think I was helpful?" Myrtle asked suddenly very shy. "You're…you're cute! And I just got back from…well from another well…I don't know. But please come see me again Harry!"

Without another word the ghost giggled, then floated up into the air before noise diving back down into one of the stalls. "Well," Harry gulped. "That was different."

"You handled her well Harry." Daphne said as they turned around towards the sink. "She's more than a little temperamental."

"Daphne! I found something here!" Tracey called out pointing towards the faucet on one of the sinks. "There's a small snake engraved on the side of this faucet."

"I guess we found the entrance then." Susan said stepping back. "Now…how do we open it? I vote for blasting curses."

"I don't think that would work." Daphne answered back looking at the sink. "This was created by one of the founders after all…Harry. Use parseltongue to open it."

"What?"

Rolling her eyes, Daphne turned to him. "Salazar was a known parseltongue, a family magic. If I was going to create a secret chamber, I would want to make sure it was only accessible to myself and my decedents. What better way to do that than key the entrance into a language that only I and my decedents could speak?"

"Point taken." Harry nodded walking up to the sink and placing both hands on either side. "Open."

"Still English Harry." Susan said. "How did you do it before?"

"I don't know." Harry breathed. "Both times I've used it there was a snake right next to me."

"Try picturing a snake in your mind Harry." Daphne said. "Focus everything you have on the snake in your mind…then speak."

Closing his eyes, Harry pictured first the snake he ran into in the cave over the summer and then the snake that Draco had summoned. He focused on both in his mind, every detail about them that he could remember, until they were the only thing he could think of. " _Opensss._ "

The sound of stone grinding on stone echoed throughout the bathroom. Opening his eyes Harry saw that the sinks were separating from one another to reveal a large opening where the sinks on where.

"Bravo my boy! Absolutely astonishing!"

Harry turned around just in time to catch a stumbling Ron. He just barely managed to stop the two of them from falling over the edge and into the recently discovered tunnel. Regaining his balance, he drew his wand and turn to confront whoever had thrown Ron at him. And found himself gawking at Lockhart. Their fraud of a defense teacher was standing behind Hannah and had his wand tip pressed firmly against her neck.

"Wands on the floor children." Lockhart said cheerfully as he pressed his wand harder into Hannah's neck. "Now if you please."

Holding firmly onto his wand, Harry tried desperately to think of what he could do. But everything he thought of had the possibility of harming Hannah. Realizing they had no choice at the moment, Harry dropped his wand.

The girls standing with him hesitated only a second longer before dropping their own wands. "Wonderful." Lockhart smiled as he banished their wands with a quick wave of his wand. "And I must thank you for finding the Chamber of Secrets for me children. It will add quite a bit of credibility to my story."

Dread started to swell within Harry as he risked a quick look over his shoulder at the entrance to the Chamber. "The Chamber had nothing to do with the attacks did it?"

"No." Lockhart smiled. "But like I said, I'm glad that you managed to find it for me in the end."

Drawing on his mother's lessons, Harry locked eyes with Lockhart and lashed out at the man's mind. And was met with a proverbial brick wall. "Now that wasn't very nice Harry." Lockhart was no longer smiling as he jabbed his wand into Hannah's neck, making the girl wince and tears to form in the corners of her eyes. "Although I must say, a legilemency attack of that caliber from one your age is impressive.

Harry couldn't help but gawk at the man. Beside him the Susan and Daphne were staring at Lockhart with shock. While Tracey and Ron were alternating between looking at him and Lockhart. "What…how?" Harry breathed not understand how the man who'd never shown even a once of skill could've blocked his mind attack.

Lockhart, sensing his confusion, just smiled cockily. "Yes…I might not be the most skilled wizard in the world. But there is one thing that I am extremely skilled at Harry. And that is mind magic's. Even that old codger and his pet snake couldn't get into my mind, and not for lack of trying either. If they could've, this whole 'Chamber' incident would've been over within hours."

"Why?" Tracey yelled, taking a step forward but stopping as Lockhart once again pressed his wand into Hannah's neck.

"Why Ms. Davis?" Lockhart asked. "It's quite simple. Fame, you see, is a very fickle thing. If you're not front and center in the news, then you are forgotten. And frankly Mr. Potter, ever since you came back into the wizarding world…I've become yesterday's news. And that is not making my publisher's happy."

"So all of this," Susan said waving a with her hand. "All of these attacks…it was all so that you could become a hero again?"

"Of course." Lockhart shrugged. "But truthfully, this whole incident with the Chamber was my backup plan. My first plan was for myself and Harry here to team up. Lockhart and Potter. Fighting the good fight side by side. People would've lined up for days to read our tales my boy. But then…you went and spit on my offer. So I went with my backup plan…although I decided to alter it after your little display of parseltongue."

"Why?" Harry asked fighting to try and keep himself calm. The last thing he need was to lose control.

"Because Potter…if there is one thing that people love more than a hero, it's to watch a hero fall."

"So you're going to try and fame Harry." Daphne concluded.

Lockhart smiled. "But of course. Harry Potter, the biggest 'hero' of our age. Caught red handed opening the Chamber of Secrets and sending the beast of Slytherin out to attack his fellow students. And I was the one to catch him in the act! This will be my greatest adventure to date!"

"Aww…just shut up already you bloody jackass!" Ron shouted. "Where is my sister!?"

"Now that was very nice." Lockhart sneered. Tightening his hold on Hannah before pointing his wand towards Ron. "Now stay back and keep your mouth shut. Or your pretty little friend here will be spending the rest of her days completely brain dead and in mind ward of St. Mungo's. And for the record, you don't need to worry about your sister or the blond girl. They are both sleeping soundly in my office waiting for my return. Speaking of…I do believe it is time to wrap this all up."

"Wait!" Harry said quickly. "I have a question."

Lockhart looked quizzical for a moment before shrugging. "Well…who am I to deny the damned lasts request. Go ahead and ask your question Potter. But be quick about it. I do have a time table to keep."

"I want to know who else you are working with." Harry said holding his hands out to his sides.

"What?"

"I said that I want to know who else you are working with." Harry repeated. "You might have some skill…but there is no way someone like you could've done anything like this on your own."

Lockhart's face flushed. "Don't doubt me boy!" He shouted. "I didn't need help! I told you my specialty is mind magic's. In fact…I'm so good that I can oblivate even a few seconds from a mind without difficulty. And a little unknown fact Potter, a recently oblivated mind is highly susceptible to compulsion and confundus charms. Almost to the point where they're as effective as the Imprius Curse. Minus the mandatory prison sentence of course."

"So that's how you did it." Daphne nodded. "You oblivated students and then layered on several confundus and compulsion charms so that they would attack another student at a later date with some sort of petrification spell. And I take it that is how you're planning on how to frame Harry. You're going to oblivate Ginny and Luna make them tell everyone that Harry was the one who attacked them and that you were the one that saved them."

Lockhart blinked. "Impressive young lady. It seems that I was mistaken…I was afraid that Ms. Granger would figure me out first. That was why I sent Ms. Clearwater after her. But apparently I should've sent her after you as well. But I've entertained you children for long enough." Lockhart said levelling his wand at the lot of them. "Say goodbye to your memories children."

"Wait!" Harry said desperately making Lockhart hesitate. "I just want to say one more thing."

"Fine." Lockhart sighed. "Get on with it."

Harry locked eyes with Hannah. "Hannah…now would be a really good time to show me that you've been paying attention to our hand to hand lessons."

Hannah's smirk was positively feral. Raising her foot, Hannah brought it down hard onto Lockhart's toes. The moment Lockhart loosened his grip on her, Hannah swung her arm down hard right into Lockhart's bits. Then before he could even scream in agony, Hannah grabbed his wand arm and ducked down which flipped Lockhart over her shoulder. In the blink of an eye, Lockhart went from having the upper hand to laying on his back, wandless, and clutching at his bits.

The moment Hannah started moving Harry, as well as Daphne and Susan, summoned their wands back to them using the Force. By the time Lockhart was on the ground, the three of them had their wands back in hand and were pointing them down at the moaning Lockhart.

"Nice job Hannah." Harry said, making said girl blush, before he turned back to a now glaring Lockhart. "Well Lockhart…look at it this way. I'm pretty sure that by the end of the week you're going to be on the front page of every newspaper in the wizarding world."

"It'll be your word against mine Potter!" Lockhart hissed. "I'm a hero! You're nothing but a bloody brat!"

"Ah, you obviously forgot who my aunt is." Susan laughed. "And I'm pretty sure that the Head of the DMLE will take the word of her niece and ward over yours."

"Then there is the fact that you just told us how you pulled all of this off." Daphne continued. "And I'm sure that we would all be willing to give pensive memories of this whole encounter. Especially the part where you told us how you got the students to attack one another."

"Short version Lockhart…you're screwed." Harry smirked casting a petrification curse over Lockhart before levitating his body. "Now let's go get Ginny and Luna and then deliver this piece of shite to Madam Bones. I'm sure that she's going to love locking this fraud in the darkest pit of Azkaban she can find."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey there everyone! Here with another chapter and a few days earlier than I thought. Just want to send a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorite/alerted the last chapter! Thank you all for your continued support!**

 **Just a brief warning, this chapter moves pretty fast but I hope that you all enjoy it none the less. Also, quick warning for language. Starting to try and earn that 'M' rating I've given this story.**

 **Please leave a review! I welcome just about all of them. My only caveat is that if you feel the need to put in criticism, please make it constructive (meaning put suggestions in). Other than that, hope that you all enjoy!**

 **Chapter 14**

After their confrontation in the girl's bathroom, and after making sure that the Chamber was once again sealed, Harry led his inner circle and a magical bound Lockhart back to the defense against the dark arts classroom where they managed to find Ginny and Luna. Both were alive but unconscious and locked within magical trunk in Lockhart's office. Their good fortune ended there however, as the moment they stepped foot out of the classroom Murphy's Law had to come into effect as they ran head first into both Professor McGonagall and Flitwick.

Although in hindsight, it was far better that they ran into those two rather than anyone else. Both McGonagall and Flitwick where at least willing to hear their explanation as to why they had Lockhart magically bound and two unconscious girls with them. Which was why they now all found themselves in the Headmaster's office with all of the staff, their parent's save for Ms. Wealesy and Mr. Lovegood who'd gone down to the hospital wing to check on their girls. There were also three Aurors that'd been summoned by Madam Bones and surprisingly enough Dumbledore was back as well.

"-and then we found Ginny and Luna locked in one of Lockhart's chests in his office. We were just about to try and find one of the staff or contact Madam Bones when Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick found us. And that's all." Harry said finishing his explanation of the night's events to all of the adults in the room while Lockhart was trying frantically to fight against the spells that were holding him in place.

"That is quite the tale young Harry." Dumbledore said, breaking the stunned silence that'd settled over his office after Harry had finished speaking.

"But how do we know that he is even telling the truth?" Snape countered his voice surprisingly neutral.

"My son doesn't lie Mr. Snape." His mother growled defensively as she placed her hands on either of his shoulders. "Unlike some others that I can think of."

"All of our children are verifying his story Professor." Cyrus said sharply, to which all of the other parents in the room nodded. "Are you accusing my daughter, all of our children for that matter, of being liar's as well?"

"Personally I will take the word of my niece and her friend over this man any day of the week." Amelia added nodding towards Lockhart, who'd been magical bound and gagged by the Aurors. "However from a legal sense my personal feelings are meaningless. But we do have a way of verifying what happened tonight. Shacklebolt, please give Mr. Lockhart here three drops of veritaserum."

"Madam Bones!" Dumbledore cried standing from his desk. "Perhaps this would be a matter better left for a time when there are not so many children around."

"These children were his intended victims Headmaster." Amelia countered harshly. "If anyone has a right to hear this man's confession, it's them. Shacklebolt, administer the veritaserum. In fact…make it four drops instead of the standard three."

"Ma'am?"

"Apparently he's a Master of mind magic Shacklebolt." Amelia countered. "Whether it's true or not I'm not about to take any chances with him. Four drops."

The large dark-skinned man nodded before pulling out a small vial from his robes. Lockhart, upon seeing the vial and hearing what it was, began fighting against his bonds violently. But all of his struggles were in vain as one of the Auror's renewed the magical restraints and the other forcibly opened his jaw allowing Shacklebolt to place four drops of the potion into his mouth.

Lockhart's slowly stopped struggling as his eyes glassed over. "I'll do the questioning." Amelia said, stepping forward so she was standing directly in front of Lockhart. "Shacklebolt take the notes. Now, state your name and your role here at Hogwarts."

"Gilderoy Lockhart. I am the current defense against the dark arts professor."

"Are you qualified to teach such a position?"

Lockhart's face twitched ever so slightly. "No."

"Why not? The tales of your exploits makes you almost legendary in status. But if you say that you are not qualified then how did you obtain the position?"

Again Lockhart's face twitched as he was obviously trying to fight against the effects of the potion. "I never did any of the acts that I wrote in my books." All of the adults, save for the Professors who'd already figured it out, his mother, and Madam Bones gasped at the revelation. "And I got this position because I bypassed the Headmaster, who'd turned me down, and went to the Board of Governors. After only ten minutes with them they were practically begging me to take this job."

Harry threw a glance towards the Headmaster. ' _Dumbledore must've realized he was a fraud well before he ever stepped foot in here. But then…why didn't he do anything to correct his complete incompetence?'_

"I think it's safe to assume that he is indeed under the effects of the potion." Amelia nodded. "Now then, were you, Gilderoy Lockhart, the one who organized the attacks on the children this semester?"

"…Yes."

"Did you actually open the Chamber of Secrets?"

"No. I didn't even know where it actually was until Harry Potter and his friends discovered it."

"Then how did you attack the students?"

"I would oblivate a student and while their mind was still recovering from the shock of the oblivation I would cast several compulsion and confundus charms on them." Lockhart explained completely straight faced. "I then gave the students a target and instructions. They were to stun their intended target once the two of them were alone and isolated from any ghost or portraits. They would then place a single drop of the Draught of Stone onto their tongues."

"Draught of Stone?" Hannah's father asked. "I've never heard of that potion and I received an Outstand on my potion's NEWT."

"Not surprising. It's not a very well-known potion." Everyone turned and stared at Hogwart's residence potion's master. "It takes months of meticulous attention to even brew a single batch. Not to mention it also costs a small fortune to obtain all of the raw ingredients needed."

"What does it do?" Madam Bones asked.

"Exactly what the name implies Madam Bones," Snape huffed. "The primary ingredient is powdered basilisk eye, which is why it is so difficult and expensive to make. It's completely odorless and colorless and is totally inert unit it comes into direct contact with the tongue. Once it does, the potion will petrify the victim immediately."

"Is there a cure?"

"Yes." Snape nodded. "The same that is used to cure a basilisk petrification. But it is almost as difficult to make as the petrifying potion itself."  
"But now that we know what was used on the students, Severus and Poppy will be able to brew a batch of the counter potion within a week. Two at the most as we have a batch of mandrakes almost ready to be harvested." Dumbledore added. "Now then, if that is all you have to ask Madam Bones might I suggest that-"

The fire place came to life as green flames erupted from its depths. As the flames died, Lucius Malfoy stepped out from the fireplace. "Lucius Malfoy." Amelia greeted, her eyes narrowing. "Might I ask why you are here?"

Lucius opened his mouth to answer, but once his eyes landed on Dumbledore he froze. "I heard about what happened Madam Bones and came to offer my services. However I can't help but wonder why the Headmaster is here. The Governors dismissed you from your positon some time ago."

"Yes they did." Dumbledore nodded. "But when they heard of another attack just a few hours ago, they contacted me and asked me to return with all haste."

"Did they now?" Lucius growled.

Harry nearly had to do a double take at the look Dumbledore was giving Lucius. It was one of a person who had someone backed into a corner and was relishing it. He should know. He was used to seeing it on his mother's face. "Yes they did…in fact, they asked me to give you something Lucius." Opening one of the drawers within his desk, Dumbledore pulled out a piece of rolled parchment.

Looking at the note curiously, Lucius crossed the small space between them and snatched it out of the Headmaster's hand. Unrolling the parchment Lucius read its contents. Frowned. Then read the note again. And again. His face turning steadily redder with each successive reading. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"I believe it is quite self-explanatory Lucius." Dumbledore smiled. "The Board does not feel comfortable with your continued presence amongst their ranks. I believe it the Board's decision has something to do with the meeting you called just before my subsequent removal as Headmaster."

Lucius looked positively murderous. That is until Madam Bones stepped in-between the two, forcing Lucius to look at her. "I'll ask again Lucius. What are you doing here?"

Lucius, regaining a small measure of his composure, squared off with the head of the DMLE. "As I said Madam Bones, I came here to offer my services after hearing of yet another attack. However, seeing as how you are all here I assume that it is safe to say that the culprit has been caught?"

' _More like you came to see Ginny get carted off to Azkaban you bastard.'_ Harry thought, his anger steadily rising before his mother placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm yourself my son." She said just low enough for the two of them to hear. "And enjoy the show. It's rare to find such good entertainment for free."

"And how did you hear about the attack Lucius?" Mr. Davies asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "The attack happened only a few hours ago and we were all summoned here less than an hour ago. So how did you learn about it?"

Lucius glared at Mr. Davies, who to his credit just stared right back. "How I learned of it is irrelevant." Lucius spat. "I only care about the well-being of this school. And as a parent of a student currently in attendance, I reserve the right to now that the perpetrator behind these attacks is punished. So…where are they?"

Smirking, Amelia pointed towards the still blankly staring Lockhart. "He's right there."

"Lockhart?" Lucius blinked.

"Yes." Amelia smirked. Harry's mother had informed Madam Bones of everything she'd regarding the diary, including how they came into possession of the artifact. No doubt Amelia was taking no small amount of pleasure in watching one of Lucius schemes fall apart, despite the fact that she wasn't able to put him in Azkaban.

"And it's thanks to my son and his friends that he was caught." Harry's mother said, her amusement with the whole situation clear in her voice. "I dare say that everything student and their parents owes these brave children thanks for their efforts. Don't you Lucius?"

"Quite so." Lucius growled, glaring at Harry and Nox. "Well…let us hope that your son and his friends will be around to end any other threats."

"Don't worry Mr. Malfoy." Harry grinned. "We will be."

Lucius continued to glare at Harry for a few seconds before turning his attention back to Dumbledore and Amelia. "Very well then…I can see that this situation is well in hand. And unlike some…I know when I've over stayed my welcome. Headmaster. Madam Bones."

And without waiting for a reply, Lucius turned tail and almost ran back into the floo.

"Good Merlin…I thought he would never leave." Hannah's mother sighed before turning her nose up and taking a deep breath. "The air smells better in here already."

"Quite so." Amelia smirked before turning back to Lockhart. "I believe we have everything we need. Shacklebolt, escort Mr. Lockhart to the Ministry holding cells to await trial. And while you're there be sure to release Mr. Hagrid with our apologies."

"Of course ma'am." Shacklebolt nodded before roughly hauling Lockhart up to his feet and escorting him through the floo with the other two Aurors.

"Well then," Dumbledore said rising to his feet. "All's well that ends well. I thank you all for coming here so late at night-"

"We're not done Headmaster." Nox said cutting Dumbledore off. "We still have to discuss what to do with the Chamber."

"Madam Nox is right Headmaster." Cyrus agreed, placing his hands on Daphne's shoulders. "The Chamber has already been opened once before, who's to say that it can't be again. And I for one am not willing to have my daughter's attend a school that has a thousand year old basilisk sealed beneath it."

Dumbledore's face gradually fell as the other parents began agreeing with Cyrus. "I can assure you all that-"

"I afraid Dumbledore that this is no longer your decision." Amelia said. "Despite the fact that this is Hogwarts, a basilisk falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Magic. Some creatures are just too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. And a thousand year old basilisk certainly falls under that category. By the end of the week I will have a team assembled to deal with the creature. You are welcome to join us as a representative of Hogwarts, but you impeding this will be violation of the law. A law which you yourself signed into effect Headmaster."

"Harry and I will be joining you as well Madam Bones."

You could've heard a pin drop after his mother's announcement. "Madam Nox…" Dumbledore said slowly. "While I cannot condone what the Ministry is doing I will not allow one of my students to be-"

"Unless you've suddenly gained the ability to speak parseltongue Headmaster, or know someone who does. Then my son is needed to even open the entrance to the Chamber." His mother countered. "And at the moment we don't know if there are any other doors that will require his unique skill set in order to open. So, and trust me I do not say this easily, he is needed. And as his mother and guardian I will be accompanying him every step of the way."

"She's right Dumbledore," Amelia said before Dumbledore could say anything. "Young Mr. Potter here is probably the only known parseltongue in all of Europe at the moment."

Dumbledore looked like he wanted to argue further, but after a moment he sighed and dropped down heavily into his chair in defeat. "Very well. But I will be accompanying this expedition if for no other reason than to ensure Mr. Potter's safety."

Harry tuned out the as the rest of the adults continued speaking. He would be going to down into the Chamber of Secrets…to hunt a basilisk. ' _Force…what the hell have I gotten myself into this time?'_

* * *

The week following Lockhart's capture had, amazingly enough, been relatively peaceful for Hogwarts. Dumbledore, to his credit, had tried to head off the famous rumor mill of Hogwarts by explaining to the school that it'd been Lockhart who'd been responsible for the attacks and not the Chamber of Secrets. But of course that didn't stop the rumors from circulating. At best it only curbed the more vicious rumors.

But now Harry was sure that those rumors were about to gear right back up considering that over half the school had just witnessed the Headmaster escorting the Head of the DMLE, the Head of House Black, Harry, his mother, and fifteen other witches and wizards through the halls of Hogwarts and into the girl's bathroom.

With a slight squeeze of encouragement from his mother, Harry stepped up to the sink in the bathroom and formed the image of a snake in his mind. " _Openss."_

"Amazing." Dumbledore marveled as the sinks separated from one another revealing the entrance to the Chamber. "For a thousand years, hundreds of scholars have been searching for this. And to think that it's been here all this time…simply amazing."

"And it took a muggleborn to find it. I'm sure those pureblood idiots are turning over in their graves." Sirius scoffed before taking a step forward and peered down into the pit. "Okay…who wants to slide down the dark creepy hole first?"

"Are you volunteering Sirius?" Nox joked as she stepped up towards the edge of the pit and peered down. "Dumbledore…Slytherin was a rather refined man was he not?"

"Yes he was." Dumbledore answered. "He was known as quite the aristocrat despite the time period."

"Yeah yeah, everyone knows he was the pinnacle of pureblood bull shite." Sirius said looking at Nox. "So what's your point?"

Stepping back from the pit, Nox motioned for Harry to take stand next to her. "My point is, that I doubt he would've created this chamber so that he would have to slide down on his ass every time he wanted to visit it. Harry, see if you asking for stairs will do anything."

Nodding, Harry stepped to the edge of the pit. The only way down that he could see was a slide that wound around the edges of the wall. " _Ssstairsss."_

A loud crack came from the slide as it separated into separated pieces, each of which turned slightly to create a winding staircase leading down. "Bravo my boy." Dumbledore clapped, drawing his wand and creating a small wisp of light that slowly floated down the tunnel.

"Johnson, Newert. You two are on point." Amelia said, to which two wizards nodded before drawing their wands and making their way down the winding stairs. Once they had disappeared from sight, Amelia turned to the witch and wizard that'd been standing near the door. "Smith, Jones. You two are on guard duty. No one comes into this room until we come back up. Madam Nox, Harry. After you."

Drawing his wand, Harry took a calming breath before stepping down onto the first step leading down behind an already descending Dumbledore. ' _Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order. I am the wielder of the flame, the protector of balance.'_

Near the bottom of the stairs the tunnel widened into a large cavern and Harry saw that the two Aurors that'd gone down first were standing side by side staring and poking at a strange rock formation. As he stepped off of the last step, he realized with a start that the two Aurors weren't looking at rocks. They were examine a snake skin that was nearly as tall as Harry.

"Merlin's bloody balls!" One of the Aurors gasped as he stepped off the stairs and took notice of the giant snake skin.

"I guess that answers the question about whether or not their actually is a basilisk down here." Amelia swallowed, her face turning slightly pale as she walked up to the snake skin.

"I fear you are correct Madam Bones." Dumbledore agreed as he walked down the length of the snake skin while holding his now glowing wand above his head. "Mr. Potter, I believe we are in need of your talents once more."

Walking around the snake skin with his mother at his side, Harry found Dumbledore standing before a large circular door that had nearly a dozen silver snakes spreading out from the center. " _Opensss."_

A new snake emerged from large door hinge, circling around the door and pushing back the other snakes that were stretched across the door. Once all of the snakes were pushed back, the door hissed and the sound of metal against metal echoed throughout the cavern as the door slowly slid open.

Small little fires began springing to life inside the new room. As their intensity grew, a large chamber with a single ten foot wide pathway with water on either sides became visible. On the far end from the entrance there was a large statue of, what Harry could only assume, was Salazar Slytherin head.

With his wand held aloft, Dumbledore took a few tentative steps into the chamber. "Remarkable. Simply remarkable."

Slowly the other Aurors began filling into the room, walking along the narrow pathway until they were standing before the large statue of Slytherin's head. Harry took a few steps in after the Aurors, but came to a stop as his mother placed her hands on his shoulders.

"It's behind the statue." His mother said in a low voice so only the two of them could hear. "Reach out with your senses and tell me what you feel."

Nodding, Harry closed his eyes and reached out with the Force trying to feel for the presence behind the statue. Locating some sort of consciousness, he reached out and tried to form a connection. And immediately physically recoiled. "Force." He breathed. The presence was…vile.

"You felt it." His mother said placing a hand on his back.

"Yes." He felt physically sick just from touching the mind of the basilisk. "It was…Force I don't know. All it knows is…anger. And hunger."

Rubbing his back, his mother turned to watch as the Aurors continued searching around the Chamber. "It's been alone for nearly a thousand years. No companionship. No freedom. And now its mind has been twisted into what you felt."

"But then…how did Riddle control it before?"

His mother shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe Slytherin somehow managed to bind the snake to himself and his descendants. Either way…the snake is useless to us now."

"-behind the statue. It has to be."

Turning his attention back to the others, Harry saw that Amelia was standing with Dumbledore and a few of her Aurors in front of the large stone head of Slytherin. "But how exactly are we supposed to get it out?"

"A few good blasting charms should do the trick."

Letting out a long sigh, Dumbledore drew his wand and lazily waved it towards the statue. The spell that he cast was stopped by an invisible wall well before it could ever reach the statue. "Salazar was one of the Four Founders for a reason ladies and gentlemen. He pretty much created his own branch of magic in the Dark Arts."

"So, how are we supposed to get to the bloody thing then?"

"I believe that we must once again ask for Mr. Potter's assistance."

Swallowing hard, Harry forced his feet to move forward until he was standing beside Dumbledore with his mother right behind him. "Wh – what do I say? I've just been saying 'open' so far."

Dumbledore looked pensive for a moment. "Slytherin was…arrogant. As was his descendents. Try saying something that will impress upon Slytherin's greatness."

Nodding, Harry took another step towards the statue as the dozen plus Aurors took up flanking positions all around him. " _By the willsss of Ssslytherin. Opensss."_ Nothing. _"Comesss forth, sssnake of Ssslytherin. Greatessst of the Founderssss."_

 _"Whosss are youssss?"_

Biting his lip, Harry risked a quick glance at the Aurors on either side of him. And judging by the fact that all of them were currently holding onto their wands so tightly their knuckles were turning white, it was a far bet that they'd all heard the hissing from within the statue. _"I am a Ssspeaker."_

 _"I knowssss. But yousss are notsss my masssster. You are notss the heirsss of my creator! Yousss are an imposssiter! And yousss…all of yousss mussst diesss!"_

"Shit." Harry cursed aloud, taking a step back and drawing his wand. "It's coming…and it's not happy."

The mouth of the statue slid open, revealing a dark passageway within. Without hesitation the dozen Aurors, as well as Sirius, Amelia, his mother, and Dumbledore all fired spells into the open mouth. Time seemed to almost stand still as everyone kept a firm eye on the entrance within the statue. Without warning the snake shot out like a bullet from the mouth of the statue.

All of the witches and wizards in the chamber started throwing dozens of different spells at the speeding blur that began coiling in on itself just in front of the statue. A few of the spells managed to impact the snake, drawing out several angry hisses from the months. But most simply bounced off of its hide.

With a spell on the tip of his tongue, Harry pointed his wand towards the basilisk only to have it move nearly faster than his eye could follow. The basilisk lashed out from its coiled position towards the line of witches and wizards. Diving to his side, Harry could feel the air whoosh past him as the basilisk flew by. The witch who'd been standing near him wasn't as lucky. The Auror screamed in agony as the snake tore off her arm as it passed her by before sinking into the watery basin within the Chamber.

"Bloody hell!" Amelia screamed running over to the now shaking Auror.

The Auror stared up at Amelia, gasping desperately for air. Harry felt he was going to be physically sick as he watched the veins in her neck and face become visible as they blackened beneath her skin. The woman, who Harry didn't even know, managed to gasp twice more before still completely in Amelia's arms.

"Get away from the water!"

His mother's scream broke Harry out his shock from watching the young woman die. Holding his wand tightly, Harry moved back in line with everyone else, including Amelia who'd left the young woman's side after closing her eyes. "Did you see that bloody thing? Our spells did absolutely nothing to it! We might as well be throwing bloody stones at the thing!" One of the male Aurors cried.

"Then stop pussyfooting around!" Harry had to blink as he turned to his mother. He'd rarely ever heard her use such language before. And apparently neither had many of the Aurors. "Fucking idiots! Stop looking at me and pay attention to the damn water! I'm not about to die because of your ineptitude. The next time that thing gives you a clear shot don't fucking use stunning spells!"

"She's right." Amelia said, a determined look set on her face. "As Head of the DMLE I'm authorizing temporary immunity from prosecution. When that thing comes up you're all clear to use the Killing Curse."

"Madam Bones!" Dumbledore gasped, while several of the Aurors turned pale. "There is no-"

"That creature just killed one of my Aurors Headmaster." Amelia hissed, her hard eyes focusing in on Dumbledore. "I'm not about to lose more. If you don't want to use it then fine. Everyone who actually has the balls to use it, then do so at will."

"Will it actually kill the thing?" His mother asked, her eyes firmly locked on the water. "That hide seems to be remarkable resilient to magic. Even more so than what I've read."

"It might not." Amelia admitted. "But at the very least it will do more damage than a stunner or a cutting curse."

No one said anything further as all eyes turned to watch the water's surface for any sign of the snake. After nearly five full minutes of nothing, Sirius spoke up. "Okay…should we try some cheese or something?"

"It's hunting us." Harry's mother spoke up, her wand remaining firmly pointed at the water. "Right now the only way out is that path across the water. The moment we try and leave it'll attack. If we all try and run I doubt even half of us would make it across alive."

"So what do we do?" A witch asked, her wand shaking more than slightly.

"We freeze the water." Amelia said firmly. "Jones, Higgins. Each of you take a side and start casting. Everyone else cover them. The moment that bastard raises its head fire at will."

The two Aurors that she'd named cautiously inched their way towards the water. Once they were close enough both pointed their wands at the water as a blue stream of what looked like snow left their wands. Inch by inch the water began to ice over.

The ice on Harry's right side shattered as the basilisk forced its way up through it. The Auror that'd been freezing the water didn't even have time to look away as the basilisk looked at the man right in the eye. The snake's eyes glowed ever so briefly and the Auror was stone dead before he even hit the ground.

A dozen jets of green light that reeked of the dark side shot out from all around him. Each hitting the basilisk right in the chest. But despite the onslaught, the basilisk simply retreated back beneath the water's surface. "To hell with this!" One of the male Auror's shouted as he took off at a sprint across the path.

"Simons!" Amelia shouted after the man. "You fool get back here before-"

But it was far too late for the man. Before he even managed to cross half the distance to the door the basilisk broke through the ice right in front of him. Simons managed to cry out once before the basilisk swallowed half of him in one go, leaving only his severed legs to teeter on the pathway.

A dozen jets of sickly green light that reeked of the dark side sped by him on all sides as the remaining Aurors all cast the killing curse at the same time. The basilisk hissed in pain as the spells struck it, but otherwise seemed unharmed. The basilisk reared up, its head swiveling towards the group. "Everyone cover your eyes!"

But before the basilisk could get its head around, a flame erupted just above the snakes head and a…a bird appeared amidst the flame before landing on the basilisk's head. " _Wretched! Burning! Pain! It hurtsss!"_ The basilisk hissed and cried out in agony as the bird pecked at its eyes.

"Fawkes has taken its eyes!" Dumbledore shouted as the basilisk finally managed to shake off the red bird, blood now freely flowing down from where its eyes used to be.

"Good."

A blur of black sped past him. His mother had moved down the path, her wand held off to her side as the snake twisted and turned in agony. All of the remaining Aurors as well as Dumbledore and Sirius were shouting at her to get back, but his mother wasn't paying attention.

Harry couldn't move as he watched his mother walk straight towards what was considered to be the most dangerous creature in the world. Once she'd closed more than half the distance between them, the basilisk stopped flailing about and cocked its head off to the side. _"I hearsssss you little onessss!"_

"Mother!"

Harry began sprinting towards his mother, his hand outstretched as he tried to reach her even as the basilisk gapping maw descended towards her.

Harry wasn't quite sure what happened next. One second he was running as fast as he could towards his mother and the basilisk that was about to devour her. And the next he was flat on his back.

Pushing himself up onto his elbows he could hardly believe what he was looking at. The basilisk was dead. The top half of its head blown out from the inside. But it wasn't the dead snake that left him awestruck. It was his mother. She was positively rating power. Black wisps of smoke with fringes of white, the physical manifestations of the dark and light side of the Force, were surrounding her body like a cocoon. And she was floating a full foot off of the ground!

Gradually, the wisps of black and white smoke dissolved from around her as she settled gracefully back onto the ground. "Good Merlin…"

Twisting his head around, he saw that all of the surviving Aurors were staring gab smacked at his mother. Even Dumbledore seemed slightly paler than usual.

Climbing back to his feet, Harry dusted himself off and had to resist the urge to run full force into his mother. Instead he settle for what he hoped was dignified, if somewhat hurried, pace. "Mother?"

His mother had her eyes closed and he could just barely feel her using the Force to search for something. "Damn it." She muttered opening her eyes. "It's not down here."

Harry wanted to ask what she was looking for, but he knew better than to ask such a question in such an open area. "Well done Madam Nox." His mother turned around, and Harry peered over his shoulder to watch as Dumbledore, Sirius, and Amelia walked up towards the two of them. "I must say Madam Nox…I haven't witness that level of magical control in years. I am most curious to learn where you mastered how to manipulate pure magical energy like that."

His mother merely smirked at Dumbledore. "Trade secret Headmaster." Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she stared at the basilisk before facing the trio again. "I'm claiming its hide and its fangs."

Dumbledore blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"The basilisk." His mother said, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb. "If I remember the law correctly, as the one who killed the beast I am entitled to claim a prize from it. I'm claiming its hide, in its entirety, and the fangs. The rest can be dissected for ingredients. But a portion of the proceeds should go to the families of the ones who died here today."

Harry had to repress smirking as he watched Dumbledore try to piece together what had just happened. ' _When dealing with an opponent that you will have to interact with publicly, create one image for yourself only to change it later. It will keep your opposition guessing as to what your true objectives are. And if you're good…you can even get your opponents to do your work for you.'_

"Yes…a fine idea Madam Nox." Dumbledore nodded. "I will see to it that it is done. Now if you will all please excuse an old man…I fear this was far too much excitement for these old bones today. Madam Bones. Madam Nox. Lord Black. Harry."

"Headmaster."

"Chief Warlock."

"Headmaster."

"Headmaster Dumbledore."

Standing close to one another, the four watched as Dumbledore slowly made his way out of the Chamber. Once he was out of sight Amelia drew her wand and cast several spells, which Harry recognized as privacy wards, around them. "Alright Nox. Where is it?"

At this, his mother scowled. "It's not here."

"Are you sure?" Sirius asked looking around. "This is a pretty big place."

"I'm sure." Nox nodded. "After destroying three of his shards I've become quite adapt at sensing his presence. Even fractured. And I can say with certainty that there is nothing here."

"I'll take your word for it Nox." Amelia nodded. "But perhaps once we've completed our excavation of this place perhaps you wouldn't mind taking another look."

His mother pursed her lips before nodding once. "Excellent." Sirius clapped. "Well, now that we've got all of that out of the way perhaps we can move away from the sixty-foot big arse dead snake that is right behind you?"

* * *

The rest of the school year went by relatively quietly, much to Harry's upmost relief. Most of his peace was due to the fact that a week after his mother killed the basilisk in the Chamber Madam Pomfrey and Snape managed to finish brewing the potion that would un-petrify the students. And because of that, any attention that was on him was refocused from to the victims who'd lost nearly a month or two of their lives.

Hermione had been in a right state when she was brought out of her petrification. It'd pretty much taken the combined efforts of the entire group to calm her down. And in true Hermione fashion, pretty much the second question after 'what happened?' was 'how much homework did I miss?'

No substitute was hired for the post of Defense teacher, which made sense seeing as how there was only two months of school left. So the position fell to Dumbledore. And despite any misgivings Harry might've had about the man, there was one thing for sure. He could teach. Harry was pretty sure that he'd learned more about defense in those two months than he had the past year and a half of defense classes.

With their secret study group pretty much out in the open, Daphne and Tracey abandoned their act and started publicly spending time with Harry and the others. At first Harry had been concerned for their safety, but that ended after two sixth year Slytherins were admitted to the hospital wing under mysterious circumstances that both refused to talk about. Harry still wasn't sure how or where the two girls learned the spell to make all of one's hair, and he meant _every_ hair, suddenly become completely ingrown but he never questioned their safety again.

Quickly enough the school year came to a close with Harry and his circle of friends receiving praise for once again obtaining the highest scores in the school. The only exception was Ron, but he still managed to score within the top fifteen students of the year.

The day after their exams were completed Dumbledore announced to the school that Lockhart had been found guilty of all charges and had been sentenced to life in Azkaban for his crimes. Just about every student in the school cheered at the announcement, but part of Harry still couldn't help but feel that the bastard had gotten of light.

On their last day at Hogwarts Hedwig delivered a special edition of the Daily Prophet that had nearly all of the Weasley's dancing in the middle of the Great Hall. Their father's muggle protection bill pass almost unanimously in the Wizenagmot. And even better, after it had passed their father had won the Daily Prophets Grand Prize Draw of a thousand galleons. Barely an hour later the Weasley children received a letter from their parents saying that they were going to go on a vacation to Egypt to visit their older brother William 'Bill'. And as a show of thanks, Arthur had invite Harry and his mother as well. His mother had quickly accepted the invitation as it gave her a chance to do what she'd been wanting to do for a long time. Study the pyramids.

Which was why Harry was currently walking with his mother and the rest of the Weasley's through an old pyramid as the eldest Weasley child guided them. "-luck that we even found this place." Bill was saying as he led the group of them down the main corridor within the pyramid while pointing towards the wall. "The carvings on the walls are unlike anything we've ever seen before. And because of that we haven't been able to translate even a single panel within the pyramid despite having our best people on the task."

"Tell me William. How is it that you and your coworkers even discovered this pyramid in the first place?"

As Bill turned his most charming smile on his mother, Harry had to restrain himself from knocking his teeth out. While admittedly Bill seemed fairly cool with his long hair, earning, and somewhat cocky attitude…he was no longer cool when he tried to put the moves on his mother! Especially because she was already involved with someone else! And she was his mother for Force sake!

"I can answer that with a question of my own Madam Nox. By a raise of hands, how many can feel that light tingling feeling on your skin?" Bill's eyebrows rose as Nox's, Arthur's, Molly's, Harry's and Ginny's hands all went up into the air. Ron started to raise his hand, but then lowered it with a sigh. "Well…this is umm…I was expecting mum, dad, and Madam Nox but…Harry and Ginny? You two can feel it?"

"Yes." Harry said while Ginny nodded. "It's ambient magic."

Bill actually had to shake his head. "Good Merlin…I've heard things about you and your mother from the goblins…but I never thought they were true until now. But you're right. What you're feeling right now is ambient magic. This place is saturated in it. Which leads into how we found it because one of our curse breakers found this nice local girl and brought her behind what he thought was an isolated rock area so the two of them could have a quick sha-"

"I don't think we need all the details Bill!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, her hands covering both of Ginny's ears.

Harry's mother chuckled as she ran a hand along the carvings. "And no one has had any luck in deciphering these carvings?"

"No." Bill shook his head. "We've had the best that Gringotts could afford out here trying to translate these ruins. But so far nothing. And without a point of reference for the translations, I fear we'll never figure them out. Now if you'll follow me out we'll head to back to the camp for dinner."

With Bill in the lead the group started to head back towards the entrance, save for Nox who remained standing before one of the wall panels. "Mother?"

Breaking her gaze away from the wall, his mother discreetly drew her wand before casting a silencing charm around the two of them. "Force this spell is useful." She muttered before withdrawing her wand.

"What is it mother?" Harry asked looking back and forth between the wall and his mother. "Do you…do you recognize these markings?"

"Yes." His mother said, surprising Harry more than slightly. "The last time I saw markings like these was back on Yavin 4. They're Jedi in origin. Perhaps even dating back to the beginnings of their order. But from what I can read on this wall…it's pure gibberish. It's as if someone used the writing for decoration rather than for instructions."

"So…what does it mean mother?"

Pulling away from the wall, his mother wrapped an arm around his shoulders before leading him towards the Weasley's. "It means Harry…that we are going to come back here after nightfall to better investigate this tomb."

Excitement swelled within Harry. ' _Finally! I'm going to be putting my training to use with mother!'_ "Yes mother." He said, unable to keep the grin off of his face as they rejoined the Weasley's.

* * *

Ginny wasn't quite sure why she woke up, but for some reason her eyes snapped opened in the middle of the night and simply refused to close once more. After several minutes of tossing and turning in her cot, she huffed and got up. ' _Maybe a drink of water will help.'_

Walking into the small kitchen area within the tent, Ginny grabbed a glass and filled it with water before downing it all in one go. As she started to fill the glass again, she felt a…pull. ' _What is that?'_ The pulls had been happening ever since she started training with Harry. And as the year had progressed they'd become…stronger.

Biting her lip, she cast a quick glance towards her parent's bedroom before heading over to the tent flap. She might not know exactly what this feeling was…but one thing that she was sure of was that it concerned Harry in some manner. The last time she'd felt a pull this strong was back near the end of the school year. She'd been sound asleep before being awoken just like now. And just like now, she'd walked out of her bedroom just in time to watch as Harry left the common room. Not an odd occurrence in and of itself, but the fact that he was leaving at one in the morning did make her curious.

Poking her head out the tent, she frowned as she looked over at Harry and his mother's tent. Just as she was about to try and go back to bed, the tent flap rustled and Harry and his mother exited their tent. Both were wearing black robes that she'd never seen before. Peeking out from the slight gap in the tent, she watched as the two spoke softly to one another before pulling their hoods up and heading off in the direction of the pyramid that they'd visited early that day.

Ginny watched as the two slowly started to distance themselves from the camp, their black cloaks making them nearly impossible to see in the darkness of the night. Pulling herself away from the tent flap she made it two steps back towards her bed before stopping. ' _Oh…this is so stupid Ginny.'_

Before she could second guess herself, Ginny went over to the coat rack and pulled her cloak down before swinging it around her shoulders and heading out after Harry and his mother. She tried her best to keep her distance from the two, although that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was actually trying to keep within eye shot of them. ' _Good Merlin!'_ Ginny thought as she started to breathe harder. ' _I knew that Harry was in good shape…but Merlin's beard! They're both walking and I nearly need to run just to keep them in sight!'_

Less than a few minutes after leaving their tents, Ginny watched as the duo passed briefly outside the entrance to the pyramid before heading inside. ' _What are they up too?'_ Ginny wondered as she reached the entrance to the pyramid.

Peering down the main stair case leading down from the entrance, she frowned. Both Harry and his mother had disappeared. ' _They're fast.'_ Ginny thought as she slowly started descending the stairs. ' _But they're not that –'_ Suddenly her body tensed as she felt something invisible grab hold of her. She couldn't even scream as she was lifted into the air.

"She's good Harry. Not only did she manage to keep up with us, I couldn't hear or see her the entire trip here and could only barely sense her presence. And her mental barriers are quite impressive. You've trained her well. I think that she'll make a fine apprentice for you."

If Ginny could've yelped in surprise, she would've as Harry and his mother stepped out from behind the pillar that they'd been hiding behind. Slowly, Ginny was lowered to the ground and the moment her feet touched the stone surface she felt her legs go out from under her as she flopped down onto her backside.

As she tried to discreetly rub her backside, what Harry's mother just said finally registered. "Wh – Harry…what's going on? What does your mother mean by 'apprentice'?"

For the first time ever, Ginny was privy to a Harry that was suddenly very unsure of himself. "Well…I um…"

"You haven't told her yet, have you son?" His mother asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"Umm, no."

Harry's mother sighed before looking at Ginny. "It appears that you and my son have much to talk about young lady. But now is neither the time nor the place for such a discussion." She looked off to the side and seemed to be having an internal debate for a moment before focusing in on her again. "You may stay with us tonight. But you must do exactly as I say when I say it. If you don't there is a good chance that you will die. Or I might just be tempted to kill you myself. Understand?"

Ginny gulped as she felt the heavy presence of Harry's mother baring down on her. ' _Good Merlin…it's like she looking right into my soul!'_ "Yes."

"Good." Harry's mother said as the heavy presence suddenly evaporated. "Oh, and I shouldn't have to say this. But should you mention anything you see tonight to either your parents, brothers, or friends I will erase your memories. Understand?"

Again, Ginny was helpless to do little more than nod. "Yes…ma'am."

"Good." Madam Nox said turning to Harry. "She's your responsibility son."

"Yes mother." Harry responded as he bowed, actually bowed, to his mother before holding out his hand towards her. "Are you alright Ginny? Sometimes my mother can be…a little intense."

"A little?" Ginny shot back, taking his offered hand and pulling herself up. Dusting her clothes off she saw that Harry had already started to move down the corridor after his mother. "Hey! Wait for me!"

Harry didn't stop, but he did slow down enough so that she could catch up. Together the three of them made their way through the labyrinth of halls that her brother had led them through earlier in the day. "So…what are we doing in here?" Ginny asked as her curiosity finally began too much to bare.

"We're going to examine the tomb that is beneath this pyramid." Madam Nox answered without looking back.

"But – but there isn't one!" Ginny exclaimed, looking back and forth between Harry and the back of his mother. "My borther said that they haven't been able to find one!"

"That's because he doesn't know where to look." Harry answered. "Listen Ginny…what I'm about to tell is something that I haven't told anyone, not even Ron or Hermione, yet. And while it would take too long to explain everything…I can at least start."

"Okay…then start talking."

"Alright, the abridged version is…well my mother belongs to a recluse sect of magical users that are well outside the norm you could say." Harry said, his face scrunching up as he was obviously trying to figure out how to explain it to her. "Her people call magic the 'Force'. But when you boil it all down, it's not too terribly different from magic. Well it is but…then again it isn't. And she's been training me how to use the Force ever since I could walk."

"And now you're teaching us right?" Ginny asked as she thought back on the lesson's that Harry, Susan, and Daphne had been giving her and the others. "You're teaching us all how to use this…the Force?"

"Yes." Harry nodded. "And the tomb that we're going to…well we think that it's a tomb belonging to a Force user. Which is why your brother and his coworkers haven't been able to find it."

Ginny blinked as she tried to put everything together. There were obvious quite a few things that he was leaving out, having grown up with six brother's she'd learned early how to spot half and quarter truths. "So…what about this whole 'apprentice' thing your mother was talking about?"

At this, Harry awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Well, my mother's people, their magic, relies heavily on a Master-Apprentice relationship. The Master teaches and the Apprentice learns. And umm…well when I promised to teach you what I knew and you promised to learn…that umm…created a Master-Apprentice bond between the two of us. I think."

Ginny stared at Harry as the two continued to follow after his mother while simultaneously trying not to hyperventilate. ' _I'm bonded to Harry Potter…I'm bonded to bloody Harry Potter! Granter it's just this…Master-Apprentice bond but…but I'm bloody well bonded to Harry Potter!'_

"Please…don't' be so loud."

"What?"

Harry once again scratched behind his head. "One thing about Force user's, and you'll get better at this as we go, but we can umm…well sense emotions. Daphne is actually extremely gifted with the ability, in fact mother thinks that she has a rare ability that allows her to see people's true nature. But umm, yeah I can sense what you're feeling. And the bond only amplifies it."

' _Wait…he can…oh Merlin! No blushing Ginny! Stop it right now!'_ "So umm…yeah…" _'Real elegant Ginny!'_ "I – umm take it that there is a lot more than you haven't told me yet."

"You would be correct Ginny." Madam Nox said aloud, startling Ginny. In all honesty, she'd actually forgotten that Harry's mother was even with them. "But that is a discussion for another time. As for now…we're at the entrance to the tomb. So I need both of you to be quiet and remember what I said."

With a start, Ginny realized that they'd actually managed to traverse the entirety of the pyramid and were at the dead end that her brother had led them too. Then, remembering what Madam Nox had said about dying, promptly kept her mouth shut as the older woman started examining the different sections of writings that littered the walls.

After making a full circle of the room, she stopped at a seemingly random section of wall and raised her hand. Ginny winced as the sound of stone grinding against stone echoed throughout the pyramid. But her discomfort was quickly overridden by her shock as the section of wall that Madam Nox was standing before slowly moved backwards before separating in two to reveal a dark passageway.

"Remember what I said Harry, Ginny." Madam Nox said, flicking her wand and creating a wisp of light that sped off down the new passageway. "Don't touch anything."

Swallowing deeply, and summoning every ounce of her Gryffindor courage, Ginny held her head up high and followed Harry and his mother down the newly discovered passage. The first thing that she truly noticed about the passage way was the smell. It was…absolutely revolting. Worse than even a failed potion! The second was the dust. There was so much of it that each of them were leaving clear foot prints almost like they were walking on sand.

The stairs were seemingly endless. And the fact that the stair's kept turning back and forth ensured that they were never given a proper view of the end. By the time the base of the stairs finally came into view Ginny could've sworn that they were nearly half a kilometer or more underground!

Harry's mother flicked her wand twice more, sending out another wisp of light with each flick so that the room before them was fully illuminated. And as the room became more visibly, Ginny felt her jaw drop again. Given the layer of dust that'd been covering the stairs, she only truly expected to find some unidentifiable ruins down here. But instead…the room before them was immaculate! There wasn't even a speck of dust on the floor! There was a pristine statue of some sort of warrior in each corner, their hands outstretch as if to hold onto something. The center of the room had a raised dais of sorts. The walls were decorated with intricate carvings that were so life-like that she almost wanted to reach out and touch them. But as she was looking around the room she noticed something. There was no exit. Just the stair's that they'd descend down.

"Oh Force. It has to be one of _these_ locks…just wonderful." Madam Nox's sigh snapped Ginny back to attention just as she turned around to address Harry and herself. "No matter what you see or hear, both of you are not to take a single step off of the stairs. Understand?"

"Yes mother."

"Yes Madam Nox."

Without another word Harry's mother marched into the center of the room. When she reached the center she thrusted her hands out to either side of her body. Ginny's eyes widened as she watched swords that were embedded in the wall murals came loose and floated one at a time into the waiting hands of the soldiers in the corners of the room.

Once all four warriors were holding a sword, a fifth sword floated out from the wall and stopped in front of Nox. Once the tip of the sword was pointing towards her feet, Nox brought her hand down and the sword slammed home point first into the floor.

What happened next was far beyond Ginny's ability to comprehend. Lightning shot out from the four statues in each corner and headed right for Madam Nox. But instead of trying to move…Harry's mother just sat there and let the lightning hit her! Ginny made to help Madam Nox, but Harry's hand on her arm held her back.

She turned around more than ready to give Harry a piece of her mind, but the words died on her lips. Harry's face was strained. And the hand that was on her arm was shaking almost violently. "She'll be okay." It almost sounded as if Harry was trying to convince himself as much as her.

Turning back around, Ginny blinked in astonishment as Nox raised her hands above her head. The lightning that'd been steadily assaulting her body rose with her hands before collecting above her head. And then without warning the lightning shot out from where it'd been collecting above her head and hit the wall directly across from herself and Harry.

For a moment nothing happened as the wall withstood the assault. But after nearly a full minute the wall…moved. Ginny's jaw dropped as a creased formed in the wall before it opened like a door. Once a path had been opened enough for a single person to walkthrough, the lightning ended and Madam Nox dropped her hands. "Force…I hate that kind of lock. Someone has a real sick sense of humor."

Ginny was left staring completely gob smacked at the woman, who just merely shrugged off whatever had just happened before walking forward and examine the new path. "Bloody hell!" Ginny finally managed to get out. "That was bloody fantastic! How did you do that? Do you think that I can do that next?"

"You can try." Madam Nox said turning back around and throwing her a grin. "But you'll more than likely be fried to a crisp young lady."

"Oh…okay. Never mind then."

"I thought as much." Nox chuckled before turning back to the new path. "I want you two to stay here for now."

"Mother?" Harry asked, walking forward so that he was standing side by side with Nox.

"There are runes along the edge of the passageway here." Looking to where Nox was pointing, Ginny saw that there were intricate markings lining the inside of the doorway. "Something is being held within this chamber…and I can't focus fully on whatever it is if I'm protecting you two. So I want you both to stay back here no matter what. Understand?"

Ginny bit her lip, and she could see that Harry desperately wanted to argue. But one look from Nox was enough to break both of their rebellious thoughts. "Yes mother."

"Yes Madam Nox."

"Good." Madam Nox said taking a step towards the entry way before stopping. "I may not be back for some time children. Harry, I believe this will be a good time to answer any questions Ginny might have. Just remember the limitations."

"Yes mother." Harry nodded.

Madam Nox gave the two of them a reassuring smile before turning her back on them, summoning another wisp of light, and marching off into the darkness. "So…" Harry sighed once his mother had disappeared from their sight. "I take it you have questions."

"Just a bloody few."

Nodding, Harry moved back to the center dais and sat down. "Well then…make yourself comfortable. We're probably going to be here for a while."

* * *

With the wisp of light hanging just out in front of her, Nox traversed the darkened path within the tomb. Unlike the stairwell of the previous chamber, this room was a pit. A giant pit that she could not see the bottom of. And as far as she could see, the only path available was the one that she was currently walking down. Whoever had built this tomb did not want to be found again. ' _But who was it?'_ She wondered as she followed bridge. ' _The markings within the pyramid were Jedi in origin. And the locking mechanism leading to the stair's Jedi in origin. But the second locking mechanism…that was a Sith test without a doubt. But then…who did this? Who had the knowledge to place both a Jedi and a Sith seal on this place?'_

After several long minutes the bridge started to expand revealing a large circular platform. This was obviously the burial chamber. But unlike the dozens of tombs that she'd explored before, this tomb lacked a casket of any form. Instead there were three skeletons covered with highly aged robes laying on the floor side by side.

Approaching the three cautiously, Nox felt as if Khem had wound up and punched her in the gut. The bodies may have been unidentifiable. But the lightsabers resting just above their heads were anything buy. ' _Lana Beniko. Kira Carsen. And Aedan…the Hero of Tython and Battlemaster of the Jedi Order. What are you three doing –'_

Nox had only a moments warning from the Force to throw up her mental barriers before something slammed into her hard enough to make her take a step back. "Impressive Darth Nox. As is expected of one of the Dark Council."

Nox narrowed her eyes as a ghost of an older man wearing a high class suit of ceremonial armor materialized before her. "A new voice. A new face. But there is no mistaking your presence. Vitiate."

The former Sith Emperor smiled. "I prefer the name Valkorion now. And I must say Darth Nox…you are perhaps the last person I expected to ever see in the mortal realm again."

"Vitiate. Valkorion. It doesn't matter. You're still the same creature that you were before." Nox growled. "And as for how I'm here…that is need to know. And you don't need to know."

"Creature? Now that is just rude Darth Nox." Vitiate…Valkorion chuckled. "And just to think…there is so much that I am willing to offer you. But, you had to go and reject my son's offer, cripple Arcann, and supposedly die. And now…here you are. How did you manage to not only escape death at my son's hands, but stay alive for three and half millennia?"

Narrowing her eyes, she glared at the ghost. "You're 'son's'? The two boys I fought on Korriban were your sons. Hmm. I guess that explains why they were both assholes. And as for how I got here…that is for me to know and for you to wonder about."

If Vitiate was put off by her words, he didn't show it. "Yes…well I cannot argue with you regarding my son's. In the end…they were both failures. But they are the past. I would speak to you of the future."

"The future?" Nox questioned, folding her arms over her chest. "Speak plainly ghost. I have neither the time nor the patience to play your games."

Vitiate nodded. "That is one thing that I've always admired about you Darth Nox. You were always quick and to the point. Very well, quite simply I wish for you to allow me in to your mind. And in return…I will give you unlimited access to my power and my knowledge."

Nox blinked before looking down at the three corpses and then back towards the door. It started out slowly. A low rumble in the back of her throat. But soon enough she was bent over and laughing out loud. "Oh Force…this is priceless! They sealed you in here! You…the Great Immortal Emperor of the Sith. Sealed in a tomb for eternity, unable to join with the Force or escape, by a Jedi Master, one of your failed Children, and a fellow Sith. Oh…this is utterly priceless."

Vitiate didn't appear to agree with her. "Are you quite through Darth Nox? If so we have much to do."

Fighting of the last remnants of her laughter, Nox smirked at the one time Emperor. "Oh? Pray tell what is it that 'we' have to do Vitiate?"

"The conquering of this world Darth Nox." Vitiate answered, putting his hands behind his back and pacing in front of her. "I came to this world because I sensed the power it contained. Unfortunately, despite their incredible abilities with the Force, the humans of this world lacked any form of useful technology to make them useful. But now that several millennia have past…they should be ready for us to create a new Sith Empire."

Nox stared at Vitiate as he finished his speech. "So that's it then. You want to create a new Empire using this world and myself as the foundation."

"Of course." Vitiate nodded, a slow smile spreading across his face. "You will be my Voice in this realm. You will have control of everything. My power. My knowledge. Everything. All you need to do is kneel to your rightful Emperor."

Staring down at the three bodies laid out before her, Nox allowed her mind to drift. His offer was…tempting. All of the knowledge that he possessed…and his power. At her fingertips. But…it would be a lie. "I bent knee to you once Emperor…but I will never bow to you again."

Vitiates face contorted in anger. "You know my power Darth Nox. I've destroyed entire planets. Do not make me destroy you child."

"You can't. Your power is nothing more than a fleeting memory." Nox smirked taking a step towards Vitiate. "I can sense your power. Despite the barriers in this tomb, you still had to use your power to prevent your spirit from dying. The effort involved in keeping your spirit bound to this plane for over three and a half millennia has completely drained your power. That first attack you launched against me was your last ditch effort. And now…you have no power over me."

To prove her point, Nox delved into the Force Walking Ritual and used it to grab hold of Vitiates spirit. "Do not get ahead of yourself child!" Vitiate yelled, struggling against her hold to no avail. "I am older, wiser, and far more powerful than you can possibly imagine!"

"I've heard that before." Nox smirked, tightening her hold on the ghost. "Darth Thanaton…he said the same exact words to me. Twice. The first time he thought he killed me but he only wounded me. The second time…he ended up as a corpse."

Panic started seeping out of the fallen Emperor as he struggled against her hold. "Think of what I can offer you Darth Nox! I can complete your training! I can show you the true power of the Force!"

"I don't need your help Vitiate."

Vitiate continued to glare at her. "You can't beat me Nox. Should you use your Force Walking Ritual, I will become a part of you and eventually take over. But should you choose to leave me in this accursed place…then one day I will break free and you will only be able to beg for death!"

Tilting her head to the side, Nox tightened her hold on Vitiate even further. "Letting me tell you a little story Vitiate. After the destruction of Ziost Darth Marr assigned me two tasks. The first was to create a time dilation field around Korriban. Your son's interfered with that and corrupted my ritual, which is how I ended up here. But the second task…was to find a way to destroy you." Raising both of her hands, she pulled deeply on both sides of the Force creating a sphere or gold and black between her hands. "It's ironic. I never found out how to destroy a spirit no matter how many Sith holocron or texts I searched through. But one day I had an epiphany…and I started researching the Jedi holocrons. And it was within those artifacts of the light that I found my answer."

Pushing her hands outwards, tendrils of gold and black crept out from the sphere and began winding themselves around Vitiate. "It was the Jedi noetikons, as annoying as they were, that helped me develop this technique. Usage of the Jedi plague shielding ritual combined with the Sith Force Walking Ritual. The Force Walking Ritual will destroy your spirit. And the shielding ritual will cut you off completely from the living Force. And with nowhere to go…you will simply disappear."

Vitiates face contorted into one of pure unaltered hatred as he fought against the tendrils that were slowly encompassing him. "No! I won't let it end like this!"

Nox staggered as she felt Vitiate lash out at her. ' _Force! He still has that much pow – stop it Nox! Stay focused!'_ Pouring everything she had into her attack, Nox gritted her teeth as Vitiate tried desperately to free himself. Slowly the tendrils covered his body until just his face was still visible. "You cannot win Nox." He said as the tendrils slowly started to cover his face. "I am eternal…and you will die by my hand."

"No." Nox hissed, placing every last drop of power she could muster into her attack. "This is where you die! This is where I break my chains!"

"Your chains…" Vitiate said as the tendrils closed in over his mouth. "…will never be broken. The darkness will always win."

With a blinding flash of light, the being that was once Vitiate was compressed into nothing by the light and dark that was encompassing him. ' _It's done.'_ Nox breathed, dropping down onto her hands and knees as the last remnants of her strength left her. ' _He's finally gone.'_

Raising her head, she stared at the three that she'd fought and bled beside nearly four millennia ago. "You three did it." She said, gathering what little strength she had left so could rise to her feet and shuffle over towards them. "You three trapped him here long enough that his power faded to the point where he could be killed. You don't deserve to lay here…forgotten for all eternity. You legacies will be remembered…I swear it."

Holding out her hand, she summoned the three lightsaber's to her before clipping them onto her belt. More than likely Ginny would receive one due to her position as Harry's apprentice. And she would allow Harry to choose who within his inner circle received the other two. She vaguely noticed that a small symbol had been carved into the stone beneath Lana's lightsaber, but in her current state of exhaustion Nox didn't really care to speculate on what it meant.

Standing straight, she bowed deeply. "May you find peace in the Force my comrades…my friends. Farewell."

* * *

"So let me get this straight…you can use the Force to make it so you can jump twenty meters into the air?"

"And then some." Harry nodded, trying hard to keep himself focused on Ginny and her many questions.

His mother had been gone for nearly twenty minutes now and he was finding it harder and harder not to get up from his spot across from Ginny and chase after her. Luckily Ginny had been nearly relentless in her questions. And while Harry was answering everything as truthfully as he could, there were several subjects which he was still avoiding. Most notably was his lightsaber, his mother's planned coup of the Ministry and most importantly, his mother's true origins.

"You can also use the Force to strengthen your body."

"How?" Ginny asked leaning forward slightly.

"Basically you channel raw power into your muscles, joints and bones." Harry answered, and then to demonstrate he raised his fist and punched the stone ground hard enough to leave a slight crack in the stone. "Most witches and wizards already do this subconsciously. Which is why they don't get injured nearly as often as those without magic."

Leaning back in her seat, Ginny bit her lip. "From what you're saying…it sounds like anyone who has magic can learn this Force stuff too."

"Not necessarily." Harry countered. "If someone's magical core has stabilized, basically if they're too old, then they can't learn to use the Force in the fullest. Just like Sirius and Amelia. They can't learn to do what my mother can, but they have learned a few little tricks that've helped them both."

Ginny looked at him curiously for a second before her eyes lit up in understanding. "My brother…his core is stabilized then hasn't it? That's why he can't do some of the things the rest of us can!"

Nodding, Harry cast a quick glance towards the darkened corridor again. Still nothing. "I think so. And…and I don't really know how to tell him that he'll never be able to learn what the rest of us are. I – I don't want to lose him…but I'm afraid that once I tell him that he'll run."

"You're probably right on that." Ginny agreed with a slow nod. "Ron has…well he's always been the…underachiever of the family I guess. Bill was Head Boy and all around ladies' man when he was in school. Charlie was the quidditch captain. Percy, the git that he is, is still a Prefect with perfect grades. And even the twins, despite their poor school records, are mild geniuses when it comes to potions and charms. And then there's Ron…well he's had nothing that was his own and he's always been compared to our brothers. You and this study group were the first thing that he's had over his brothers. Suddenly learning that he can't do what the rest of us…it'll destroy him."

"So what do I do?" Harry pressed. Despite the rocky start they had, Ron was slowly turning into a decent friend and Harry would miss having another boy his age to hang around with. That and, while not knowing everything, Ron still knew a few things that neither Harry or his mother wanted out in the open yet.

"Just…do what you're doing." Ginny grimaced. "I've noticed that you've slowly been changing what Ron does during training. Like actually learning occulmency instead of this…mental barrier that you have. That's good. If you want to keep Ron around you need to show him that he still has value to you. The moment you take that away from him, or if he thinks he has no value to you, he'll bolt."

Rubbing his chin, Harry opened his mouth to ask another question of her when he heard the steady sound of heels tapping on stone. He briefly wondered why he hadn't felt his mother's presence, but those thoughts went by the wayside as he turned around and saw her. His mother looked completely and utterly drained.

No longer caring about what he'd been told, Harry sprinted forward and reached for his mother just as she stared stumbling forward. "I thought…I told you to stay…put." His mother breathed heavy as Harry wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"You can yell at me later." He said guiding the two of them towards the exit to the chamber where an anxious Ginny was waiting just beyond the chamber's boundary for them. "What…what happened mother? You feel…lighter."

"I broke my chains my son." His mother smiled at him but didn't elaborate further.

Once they crossed the threshold of the chamber, Ginny was instantly on his mother's other side. It was a testament to his mother's exhaustion when even Ginny's petite frame was able to off her some level of support. "Are you alright Madam Nox?"

"Yes child." Nox nodded, straightening slightly while still keeping an arm around the both of them.

"What…what was in there?"

Turning her head, Nox's eyes lingered on the chamber for a second before turning back to the two of them. "A piece of the past that needed to be destroyed. And that is all that I'll say on the matter."

Ginny looked like she wanted to ask more, but a quick look from Harry thankfully silenced her. At least for the moment. Together the three of them slowly made their way up the stairs leading back to the surface. "Ginny, you will be making some sort of excuse to your parents so that you can spend at least eight to ten hours a day at Grimmuald Place."

Her comment was so sudden that both Harry and Ginny stopped mid step. "Madam Nox?"

"You're my son's apprentice Ginny." She said, squeezing Harry's shoulders slightly. "And while my son is a prodigy…I will not allow him to half train his first apprentice. So for the rest of the summer you shall be training alongside my son, Susan and Daphne."

Ginny's face lit up with excitement. "Yes ma'am! I think I can make up some excuse that my parents will buy. I can't wait to learn from you!"

Harry couldn't' help but laugh. "Oh Ginny…you are seriously going to regret saying that soon enough."

* * *

Prisoner 1134-56. That was what they called him now. Again and again. The guards of this hell on Earth known as Azkaban took an almost childlike delight in calling him that. A constant reminder of what he was. A meaningless number that had been condemned to rot in this frozen hell. The worst though was the dementors. The demon guards of the prison almost seemed to enjoy torturing him as they constantly stayed just beyond the bars of his cell for hours on end.

He already lost track of how long he'd even been in here. A month. A year. Five…or maybe ten. It didn't matter. There was no light to judge the passing of time. And the guards and dementors constantly changed their schedule to avoid any type of routine that he could catch onto. In short…he was well and truly buggered…screwed…fucked.

Hearing a door open in the distance, 1134-56 sunk further into the darkness of his cell. _'Probably a guard come to remind me how worthless I am…or worse a dementor.'_

Huddling back into the deepest part of his cell, he wrapped his only blanket around his shoulders in preparation for the bone chilling coldness that was about to descend upon him. When none came he looked up and found himself staring at a guard that he didn't know.

The guard stared down at him for a full minute without saying anything. Finally the guard drew his wand and pointed it towards the lock on his cell. "I don't know who you know you piece of shit." The guard hissed taking a step into his cell and holding his wand towards him. "But you had better tell them to leave my fucking family alone. I'm done with them."

1134-56 stared at the guard, then at the wand, then back up to the guard. "I don't-"

"Are you that fucking slow?" The guard hissed, throwing a cloak at him and pushing his wand into his hand. "The cloak will hide you from the guards and make you mostly invisible to the dementors. Now take my Merlin damned wand and oblivate me already! There's a small boat waiting on the northeastern end of the island. Once you leave this cell you take a right. Then at the first intersection a left. Go down the stairs at the end of the hall two flights and go out the door that'll lead you outside. You'll have five minutes after you cast the spell before the dementor's arrive and ten until the guards do. So you'd better run. Now what are you waiting for! Do it already! And tell whoever the hell it was that arranged for your little escape that we're done."

The prisoner didn't need to be told twice. It was probably a trick. He would even take false hope than nothing. Throwing the cloak over his shoulders he took the wand from the guard before casting a stunner followed quickly by an oblivate.

All around him the walls started screaming at an ear splitting volume. Casting a muffling spell around his ears, the prisoner bolted out of his cell following the directions the guard had given him. The guard definitely overestimated the reaction time of the guards as he was nearly caught twice by the guards before he managed to get to the door leading outside. And then, anchored against the shore was a small boat barely big enough to hold two people sitting side by side.

Stumbling down the rocky path, 1134-56 splashed into the water, pushing the boat out away from the shore before jumping into it. A quick wave of his wand and the boat was disillusioned and quickly moving away from the island at a decent rate.

Once the island was finally out of sight, prisoner 1134-56 sat up in the boat and let out a roar of triumph. He, Gilderoy Lockhart, had successfully broken out of Azkaban prison! But in his exuberance, he failed to notice the small rat that climbed out of the cloak the guard had given him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey there everyone! New chapter all ready for ya!**

 **Sorry I didn't release this earlier. But I was out of town for the holiday weekend and thanks to GOT passing the books…I am now actually invested in the show and that has created more than one idea in my head for a new story. Don't worry though, I'm not planning on starting anything new until this one is done. I've learned the hard way to focus on one story at a time.**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed! If I didn't get around to responding I apologize and will try to do better the next time around!**

 **Please let me know what you all think! Just a warning…the next two (maybe three at the longest) chapters will be relatively slow. But once we get through this year things are going to be turned on their head!**

 **And as always, please review! I really want to know what you guys think. And if you feel you must criticize, please make it constructive so I can do better.**

 **Chapter 15**

The week following Lockhart's escape from Azkaban prison had been an absolute circus. And not in a good way either. Fudge had gone on an absolute frenzy after learning of the escape. The first successful prison break from Azkaban could not happen on his watch. It just couldn't. And if it had…he would be damned if he was the one to take the blame. Then things went from bad to worse as the Daily Prophet somehow managed to get a hold of the story and plastered it across the front page of their paper three days after their escape.

Once Fudge had gotten ahold of the paper he tore through the ranks of the DMLE, outright firing three Hitwizards, one Auror, and two secretaries. All of whom Amelia rehired, albeit to different positions, as soon as his back was turned. But because of Fudge's interest in the case, purely from a self-preservation and political view, Amelia had been forced to stay at the Ministry twenty-four hours a day for the entire week while all of her Auror's and Hitwizards were searching the country side in the largest man-hunt in recent history.

Amelia had spent the week pouring over every scrap of information they had of Lockhart. Which proved to actually be quite little once one separated out fact from fiction. After exhausting that avenue, Amelia decided that she needed to see exactly what had happened, which was why she was currently standing in Lockhart's cell in Azkaban prison with an ever increasingly nervous Warden standing behind her. The new Warden, whose name she couldn't remember, had only been holding the post since the beginning of the year when the older Warden finished his rotation. And if she were being entirely truthful, the only reason the new Warden got this post was because he was some relative of a friend of the Minister.

"Where was the guard found?"

"Pretty much right where you're standing ma'am." The Warden answered, awkwardly shifting his weight form foot to foot. "Completely brain dead…poor bloke. Had a wife and kid too."

Amelia had already read about the guard's fate in the report that'd been filed. He'd been oblivated to the point where his brain was a vegetable. She'd already investigated the guard thoroughly, thinking that he'd been a part of the whole escape plan. But her department had turned up nothing so far that would support her suspicion. No money transfers. No known threats to his family. Nothing. By all intense and purposes, Lockhart had somehow managed to get the guards wand, oblivate him, and make his escape.

"This doesn't make sense." Amelia muttered looking around the cell once more.

"Ma'am?"

"There is no way Lockhart could've done this on his own." Amelia thought aloud while looking around the cell. "He had to have had help. But he'd only been in here for barely a month. That isn't nearly long enough for someone to plan something like this. This would take a year or more – Warden I want to see the prisoner rosters now."

The Warden blinked. "Ma'am?"

"Don't question me Warden." Amelia shot back. "I want to see the prisoner rosters for all sections of Azkaban. Now."

The Warden licked his lips nervously, but nodded all the same. Together to two left the empty cell and made their way through the maximum security ward of the prison and back to the Warden's office. Once there the Warden went over to the large book shelf that dominated half of his office. Pulling down two large books, the Warden set them both down on his desk. "These are the rosters for the maximum and minimum security wards ma'am."

"And what about the Death Ward?"

The Warden recoiled as if she'd physically struck him. "Madam Bones, I can assure you that there is no need to-"

"I will decide what is necessary and what is not Warden." Amelia hissed turning on him. "Question me again and I will have your arse thrown in the very cell that is now vacant for obstruction of an open investigation. Now give me the Death Ward roster."

The Warden hesitated only a second longer before going back over to the shelf and pulled out a slim black book. Taking the book from him, Amelia sat down behind the Warden's desk and began flipping through the pages. Each page was dedicated to a single prisoner and detailed when they were admitted, their sentence, how many years served and a dozen other little details. It took her less than five minutes to find what she was looking for. Setting the book down on the desk, she turned it around so it was facing the young man. "What's this Warden?"

The Warden swallowed and looked down at the page. "Prisoner number 2568-16, Peter Pettigrew…died…seven days ago."

"The same day that Lockhart escaped. And where is the notation that his body was either disposed or sent to the morgue?"

"I – I…well that is to say that umm…"

"I expect your resignation on my desk tomorrow morning Warden."

"W-what?"

Turning her attention away from the book, she fixed the Warden with an icy glare. "I said that I expect your resignation on my desk tomorrow morning."

The Warden's face paled. "Y – you can't do that!"  
"Yes I can Warden. I'm your boss in case you forgot."

"I – you can't!" The Warden cried as his face went from pale to red. "The Minister will-"

"The Minister will hang your arse out to dry." Amelia said cutting the Warden off. "If you really think that you mean more to the Minister than his approval ratings, than you are as naïve as you are stupid. Now get the hell out of here before I make good on putting you in Lockhart's cell."

The Warden looked like he was about to argue further, but then he showed probably the first sign of intelligence all day by closing his mouth and making a run for the door.

' _Lockhart was never the intended escapee. He was merely a patsy. A ghost for us to chase while the real target got away.'_ Letting out a tired sigh, Amelia sunk further into the seat. ' _Things have just gone from bad to completely buggered.'_

* * *

Despite the breakout of two of the most wanted men in all of Britain, Harry was actually enjoying his summer vacation immensely. His enjoyment was due mostly to the presence of a fourth person during their summer training session. Harry still wasn't quite sure how she'd pulled it off, but the Monday morning following their return from Egypt Ginny arrived via floo at promptly six in the morning. When he asked how she managed to conceive her parents, more specifically her mother, to come over and train with them she turned bright red and mutter 'none of your bloody business Potter'.

When he asked why Ron wasn't with her or why he wasn't making a fuss, Ginny just smiled mysteriously at him and told him that Ron was grounded for the summer after being caught by their mother with an open copy of 'Naught Witches Monthly' in his room.

Once Susan and Daphne arrived, both of whom only merely shrugged at Ginny's presence, the quartet moved into the training room. Upon entering, Susan and Daphne immediately split off so they could perform their day mediations in private while Harry took Ginny to a separate area so he could explain the code to her in detail.

After an hour of mediation his mother showed up and their daily training began in earnest. While Ginny was technically his apprentice, his mother wanted a firm hand on her training during the summer months. With his mother there they were able to truly get started. And it took all of ten minutes for Harry and Ginny to realize just how easy he'd been taking it on his friends.

Despite her size and natural agility Ginny was pummeled during the dodging exercise by Harry, Daphne, and Susan. Then when it was her turn to throw the spells, she couldn't land a single hit on any of them. Next they moved on to the Muntuur stones. And despite her best efforts Ginny hadn't been able to lift even a single one.

The biggest shock for Ginny came when the three of them drew their lightsabers. After watching their forms for a few minutes, and staring completely awestruck at how the blades could deflect magical spells, she'd immediately asked when she got one. Then to Harry's surprise, his mother unclipped her own lightsaber and handed it over to Ginny. Thankfully his mother had had the lightsaber set on training mode, as within ten seconds of holding onto the activated lightsaber Ginny managed to hit herself in the leg with it. His mother had instantly summoned her lightsaber back and told Ginny that she would get one once Nox was convinced that she wouldn't take her own limbs off with it.

The rest of their first day had been dedicated to sparing practice. Harry was just barely able to give Ginny a quick overview of the forms and different stances before his mother decided that it was time to test her. Neither Harry, Daphne, nor Susan held back as they went up against Ginny one at a time. To her credit, no matter how frequently or how hard she got knocked down, Ginny always got back up to her feet and demanded to go again. By the end of her first official day of training Ginny wasn't even able to stand on her own two feet without assistance. It took the combine efforts of all three apprentices to heal her and give her enough energy to make it back through the floo on her own.

The next morning Ginny showed back up slightly more sluggish than the day before. But again to her credit, she managed to almost keep pace with Harry, Susan, and Daphne without a single complaint. In fact, Ginny almost seemed to thrive under the pressure. And while she wasn't as powerful as Harry or Daphne, she seemed to be a natural when it came to the sword. After her first day hiccups that was. She took to Form IV Ataru with a vigor that surprised even his mother.

Ataru was a flashy high risk high reward type of fighting that usually favored the smaller and more mobile warriors. Which seemed to fit Ginny to a 'T'. The only downside to her taking of that form was that none of them, including his mother, were particularly skilled with it. Which meant that most of Ginny's lesson's outside of the sparing ring were guided with the help of a holocron, which the mere existence of nearly made Ginny faint. But even with the handicap, Ginny was proving herself to be quite capable.

Ginny wasn't the only one who was improving drastically either. Daphne's skill had increased by leaps and bounds ever since she started focusing more on Juyo with only accents of Niman. And Susan's Makashi was nearly on par with Harry's own usage of the variation.

For Harry, Susan, and Daphne the first half of their summer training was actually fairly…mediocre. While the days were still hard and the training relentless, they paled in comparison to what the trio had gone through the past few summers. Ginny however wasn't nearly as fortunate. Harry's mother seemed to be trying to combine months of training into only a couple of weeks. Each day Ginny left barely able to stand on her own. But every morning she would return ready for more.

For weeks this pattern continued. Until the day before his birthday when his mother announced without pretense that they would not be practicing the next day as it was Harry's birthday party and that all of them, including the members of Harry's inner circle and their parents were invited.

The next day everyone, and he meant everyone, showed up to his party. Hermione and her parents arrived from the street, both of her parents looking around in wonder at one of the few open displays of a magical location they had ever seen. Everyone else arrived by floo, including Ron who'd been ungrounded by his mother for the day only so that he could attend. There were probably more people packed into Grimmuald Place in those few hours than in the past few years!

After nearly three hours of socializing, Harry desperately needed a break. Stepping out into the hall away from the rest of the party goers, Harry breathed a sigh of relief. ' _Force…I am never allowing Sirius to plan a party again. Ever'._

Taking a few deep breaths, Harry made to head off to the kitchen for a drink when he felt a familiar presence behind him. Turning around, he stared at the seemingly empty hallway behind him. "If you two are planning some sort of prank, you might as well forget about it and come out." The hall behind him remained empty. "You have three seconds before I send Ginny after you. One. Two. Thr-"

"Merlin Harry! No need to-"

"-get rude with us!"

The Weasley twins emerged from the shadows of the hall almost as if they'd been disillusioned. ' _No matter their grades…these two are ridiculously talented.'_ "So what can I do for you two?"

The twins looked at each other, nodded, then turned back to him. "Well Harry, you see we've just remembered that today-"

"-is your birthday. So we wanted to give you something-"

"-but we weren't sure what you wanted. So we decided to give you something that we-"

"-have been using to great success!"

With a flourish Fred, no matter how hard they tried Harry could always tell them apart by their Force presences, pulled out a sheet of parchment. "We proudly present to you-"

"-the key to our success! The-"

"Marauder's map." It wasn't the twins who'd said the last words, but Harry.

The twins recoiled as if they'd been slapped, both staring at him with wide eyes and gaping jaws. Taking the parchment, Harry drew his wand and placed the tip onto the paper. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Ink started spreading out from the tip of his wand, forming a large intricate weaving with the words 'Marauder's Map' in the center.

Fred and George, finally overcoming their shock, looked at each other, the map, then Harry and then each other once more. "Fred…I think we've just been pranked."

"I believe your right George."

As one the two took a step towards Harry, it was lucky for both of them that Harry could sense their non-hostile intent or he would've laid both out flat, and began a show of examining his hair. "I don't see any red George."

"Neither do I Fred."

"Distant cousin perhaps?"

"Doubtful."

"Either parent have a fling that we didn't know about?"

"Our prude of parents have a fling?"

"You're right. Would never happen."

"Will you two stop it?" Harry chuckled waving them both off. "If you'll wait for five seconds I can explain how I know about this map."

Both twins made a show of zippering their lips shut.

"Good." Harry breathed before pointing to the four names under the decorative middle. "Prongs. Moody. Padfoot. And Wormtail. Together they formed a little pranking group called 'The Marauders'. Well as it so happens, Prongs is – was my father."

The twin's eyes widened almost comically before they both fell to their knees. "The son of Prongs!" The both exclaimed in unison. "We are unworthy!"

"Please stop groveling. It's embarrassing." Harry winced, but when both made no move to stop, Harry thought of the perfect way to get them out of his hair. "You know…if you wanted to meet two of the Marauders I can introduce you to them."

"Yes!" Both cried out before bowing to his feet repeatedly. "Please tell us son of Prongs!"

"Well as it so happens, two of them are sitting down stairs right now." Harry said with a touch of difficulty as he tried not to laugh at the expression on both twin's faces. "Padfoot, also known as Sirius Black. And Remus Lupin, also known as Moony. I'm sure that if you-"

Harry didn't get to finish his sentence as both twins took off like a pair of race horses down the hall. He was pretty sure there was a trail of dust floating behind each of them as well. Chuckling to himself, he pressed his wand to the center of the map. "Mischief managed."

* * *

Along the outskirts of a small village near the coast, a small rat scurried through the underbrush as it made its way towards an old abandoned shack near the outskirts of the village. For the past month and a half the rat, also known as Peter Pettigrew, had been hiding, riding in muggle vehicles and walking as both a human and a rat in his effort to get to this very spot.

Despite having little to do for the past month besides hiding and thinking, he still had no idea about just who it was that had set up his escape from Azkaban. But one thing was for sue, whoever did it was a genius. Breaking out Lockhart at the same time had given Peter a full week without anyone even aware that he was gone. One Lockhart had managed to get them to shore Peter ditched the man and ran like there were demons on his tail.

He managed to get through the full first week with ease, mostly because no one knew that he was even gone in the first place. Towards the end of his first week on the run he came across a small wizarding family home that was pretty weak in defenses. Deciding to take a chance he snuck through a weak point next to the ward stones and wormed his way into the house. He didn't plan to stay for long, just long enough for the family to go to sleep so he could grab some food and money. But when he got into the kitchen his heart stopped. There, sitting on the kitchen counter, was a copy of the Daily Prophet with his and Lockhart's face plastered all over the front page.

After learning that his escape had been noticed he pretty much stayed in his rat form continuously out of fear. Not that he was scared of the Aurors and the Hit Wizards. Far from it in fact. He'd managed to avoid them for years while living with a pureblood wizarding family. He'd even fooled the old goat himself. No. The fear that drove him to stay in his rat form continuously could be summed up in one word. Nox.

In his time serving the Dark Lord, Peter had seen and participated in his fair share of gruesome and violent acts against both muggles and magicals alike. But what he saw that night twelve years ago when Nox so casually and brutally killed one of his fellow Death Eaters…Morgana's tits…that one act was the cause of more sleepless nights for him than he cared to count.

Pushing those thoughts from his mind he found the run down shack that'd been described in the note that the guard had slipped him. After making one lap around the shack he found small enough opening for him to slip into and made his way in.

The shack was warm. And he could vaguely hear the sounds of a fire going in the small room. But it was what his nose picked up that caught his attention the most. Apparently his 'benefactor' had come to greet him in person.

"I know that your there rat." A deep voice growled as black robed figured stepped out into the firelight. "You might as well reveal yourself. You tripped a ward that I placed around here the moment you entered. And you won't be able to leave until I say so."

From his spot on the floor Peter could make out that the man was wearing a black robe and a hood over his head. But it was his face, or mask really, that caught his attention. It was the mask of the Death Eater. Seeing as how this man had spent so much time and money to get him out of Azkaban, Peter figured the least he could do is humor the man. He could always escape later. A little thing like wards never stopped him before.

Stepping out from behind the end table he'd been using for cover, Peter shifted into his human form right in front of the man. To the man's credit, he didn't even flinch at his sudden appearance. "T-t-thank you s-so m-much!" Peter stuttered, adapting to the imagery that'd saved him so many times in the past. "I – I couldn't des – describe the horror of staying there a – any lon-"

"Silence rat!" The man growled, to which Peter curled up in on himself. "I did not spend the past year of planning your escape to hear you whimper like a fool! I have a task for you."

"M-m-me? Y-y-ou have s-something for me to – to do?"

"Of course." The man scoffed. "You honestly didn't think I spent all that time and money just to get an insignificant rat like yourself out of prison out of the goodness of my heart did you? No. I broke you out because you have knowledge and very particular skill set that I intend to make use of."

Peter perked up at that. ' _Finally, getting to the reason he broke me out of there.'_ "W-w-whatever I can d-do for you…j-just ask."

"Good." The man said curtly. "The price for your freedom is quite simple. You are to kill Harry Potter."

Peter stared at the man for a full minute without saying a word. "H-H-Harry P-P-Potter? Y-you want me to k-kill Harry P-Potter?"

"Yes."

Again Peter could only stare at the man. "I – I cant!"

"Yes you can." The man growled taking a step towards him. "You helped the Dark Lord to kill his parents. Now you are going to finish the job."

"I – I can't!" Peter shouted. He didn't have to act out his fear this time. He was genuinely scared shitless.

"You can and you will." The man growled back and took a step towards Peter.

Taking a step back in an effort to keep the distance between the two of them, Peter began frantically looking around trying to find the quickest way to escape. "It's suicide!" Peter cried. "No one can get into the Black Family Manor. A – and then th-there's….Nox."

"Nox." The man practically spit the name. "While I will admit she is politically astute. She has yet to show that she has any real power."  
"You weren't there!" Peter cried again, shirking in on himself in an effort to make himself look as vulnerable as possible while still keeping an eye out for a possible escape. "She killed one of our fellow brothers like he was nothing! And the way she did it…Merlin save me. I say this honestly…she could rival the Dark Lord if he were still alive today!"

The man stopped his advance. "Hmm. Interesting if true. The woman has been careful to avoid all public displays of power. I managed to wrangle the story of her defeating the basilisk below Hogwarts from Fudge…but I had discarded them. None the less though Potter must die. But I will admit that attack him in the Black Family home would be suicide. That is why you will strike while she is not around. Hogwarts."

"B-b-but that's worse!" Peter yelled out. "Dumbledore will be there!"

"Oh don't give me that shite about you being afraid of Dumbledore." The Death Eater scoffed. "You managed to completely fool him during the war. You managed to frame one of your best friends right under his nose. And between your time there as a student and as the Weasley's family pet, you have spent nearly two decades at that school. You probably know the school grounds as well as any of the staff."

Whimpering again, Peter looked around the small room again. There was a slight crack in the wall across from him that he would be able to slip through. The only problem was the man who'd freed him was standing right in his way. "I - I can't! It's suicide!"

"I'm not giving you a choice rat!" The man hissed as a wand dropped down from his sleeve and into his open hand. At the same time Peter noticed movement off to either side of him as two more similar cloaked and masked individuals walked into the room. "There are anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards all around this room. The only way that you're leaving there is if you swear and unbreakable vow to kill Harry Potter before the end of the next school year."

Glancing to his left and right, Peter eyed the two men wearily. "F-fine." He stuttered as he slowly got to his feet. "B-b-but…c-can I say s-s-something?"

"Fine. Out with it."

Taking one more step towards the man, Peter kept his eyes trained on the crack in the wall. "It's incredible that even after fifteen years you still haven't changed your cologne Lucius Malfoy."

Lucius's body tensed for a brief moment, and that was all Peter needed. Barreling into his fellow Death Eater, Peter knocked him over before leaping into the air and transforming into his rat form before he even hit the ground. He vaguely heard Lucius yelling at the other two to stun him, but by the time they had a clear shot of him he was already squeezing himself through the small crack in the wall.

The walls exploded all around him as he scurried down between the floorboards and out into the cool night. ' _Well that went well.'_ He scoffed as his small rat legs carried him away from the shack as fast as they could. ' _Should've figured that whoever broke me out of Azkaban only wanted to use me. But now…what do I do? Where should I go?'_

As he made his way through the grass he was hit with a sudden thought. ' _Hmm…for some reason Albania sounds like a good place to go. Can't be any worse than here.'_

* * *

Holding her training staff in front of her, Daphne carefully moved sideways as she circled her opponent. Despite her initial misgivings about having a Weasley in their midst, mostly due to the common knowledge that the Weasley's worshiped the ground Dumbledore walked on, she had to admit that Ginny was turning into a fine addition to the apprentices. While she was powerful magically, that didn't necessarily translate into powerful in the Force. But where she lacked in the Force, she more than made up for it with a blade. After only a month of practice Ginny was nearly able to keep up with Daphne.

Without warning Ginny spun forward, her practice blade dancing around her before slashing upwards. Daphne knocked the strike up higher before spinning low to take out Ginny at the knees with the back end of her staff. ' _Nearly at my level.'_ Daphne smirked as Ginny let out an undignified 'hpmf' as she hit the floor. ' _But not quite yet.'_

Taking a step towards Ginny, who was still trying to recover from her impact with the floor, Daphne held her hand out. "If you're going to strike up like that make sure you either connect, pull your blade back down, or get out of the way. You made the same mistake in the last bout. It is a correction you must make."

"Thanks for the tip." Ginny mumbled sitting up right. "You couldn't have told me that five minutes ago?"

"I could've…but where would the fun have been then?"

With a huff Ginny reached out and took her offered hand. The moment the two touched, Daphne still as the breath left her lungs in a rush. It was as if she could sense every emotion the girl had felt in the past two years all at once!

Ripping her hand away, Daphne staggered back as she gasped trying to catch her breath. "Daphne!"

She hadn't even noticed that everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing so as to stare at her. Ginny was staring up at her with wide eyes, confusion written clearly across her face as she looked back and forth between her hand and Daphne. Susan was staring at her with suspicion, which was understandable seeing as how the two of them had experienced this same situation just the other day. And Harry was staring at her with open concern.

Her Master however…she was staring at Daphne almost contemplatively. "How long has this been going on Apprentice?"

Daphne swallowed the sudden lump that'd formed in her throat. "Several weeks Master." She answered truthfully. Only a fool, a dead fool, tried to lie to her Master.

Her Master nodded once and took a step forward. "Look to Harry. Stretch out your feelings towards him and tell me what you sense."

Nodding, Daphne closed her eyes and stretched out her sense towards Harry. "I sense…anger. Righteous anger. But it's controlled by a calmness…like a whirlwind that has yet to breech the surface of the water."

Opening her eyes she saw pretty much what she expected. Harry, Ginny, and Susan were all staring at her in open mouthed shock, while their Master was merely nodding. "As I suspected…"

"Mother?" Harry questioned turning towards their Master.

"Daphne has a very rare Force ability. It goes far beyond the simple abilities of an empath." Her Master explained. "I had her read you Harry because you have the best mental defenses. Yet she was able to go through them and see your true self as if they weren't even there. I've only encountered this ability once before in Arcazin's apprentice Jaesa Willsaam. The idiot girl that she was. She fell to the dark side faster than a sack of bricks."

Daphne's eyes brightened as she realized what her Master was telling her. "You mean…you mean I can read people no matter how strong their mental defenses are?"

"Yes." Her Master answered simply. "But we must have a care with this ability. As useful as it is, there is a hidden double edge to it."

"What do you mean mother?" Harry asked taking a step closer to Daphne.

Rubbing her chin, her Master peered off to the side. "While Jaesa was with the Jedi she suppressed her abilities rendering them almost useless. But when she turned to the dark side she embraced her powers fully. The combination of her embracing her powers with the dark side…well let's just say that the ability can become incredibly addictive. She not only wanted to feel and express every personal emotion within herself, she wanted to experience them within others as well. And within a year she was fucking and killing just about anything that could walk on two feet. Even somethings that didn't.

"Although I guess that I cannot totally fault her. Arcazin encouraged her activities. Sometimes even participating in both acts alongside her. In time the girl became absolutely ruthless as she was consumed with her need to use her powers. So it is now imperative that you not only learn to control your powers. But you must stay neutral in the Force. Lean too far to the light and your powers will be suppressed. Lean too far to the dark and you will be consumed by your powers."

Daphne's throat was dry by the time her Master had finished her explanation. ' _A double edged sword? Morgana and Merlin…more like a lightsaber without a hilt!'_

"Daphne."

Giving a mild start, Daphne looked up and found that Harry was standing so close to her that they were practically touching. ' _Morgana, when did Harry get so close to me?'_

"You're going to be alright." He said strongly. "We won't let anything happen to you."

"He's right Daphne." Susan added stepping up beside him. "We apprentices have to look out for one another."

"I'm with you too Daphne." Ginny add last. "I – I know that we don't know each other all that well. But I…I want to help you too."

Their support touched something deep in Daphne, forcing her to turn her head slightly and close her eyes. ' _Merlin's balls! I will not tear up…I will not…of Force. Screw it.'_

Letting her tears fall freely, she threw her arms around Harry. "Thank you." She whispered into his shoulder, while pushing the bundle of emotions emanating from him to the back of her mind.

Harry's rigid body slackened inch by inch the longer she held onto him. Slowly, she felt his arms encircle her as well. "Anytime Daph. Anytime."

* * *

Sitting outside of the Minister of Magic's office, Lucius Malfoy, Head of House Malfoy, was starting to grow increasingly impatient. He'd been sitting there waiting for the Minister for nearly half an hour now. Which just went to show how much his hold over the Minister was starting to slip. Less than two years ago Fudge would've dropped everything or would've been the one waiting. Now…now Lucius was stuck waiting for his turn like a commoner.

And there could only be one reason for his fall. Madam Ziri Nox.

Ever since she stepped foot into the Wizenagmot all those years ago, he'd slowly begun to see his power slipping away from him. First the Greengrass's abandoned him. And with them went the Davis's as well. At first he was willing to dismiss her, but as finical contracts and business opportunities started to elude him, he hired someone to look into her. Magically the woman was nonexistent. But apparently in the muggle world she owned some business that turned a tidy profit. And it didn't take a genies to figure out that it was Nox, with the aid of the Black and Potter Vaults, who was buying out contracts from underneath him.

Then there was the loss of prestige amongst his peers. Once again attributed to Nox. Despite his outright hatred of the woman, he had to give her credit. She knew what she was doing. Within four years she'd gone from being a new witch in the Wizenagmot, to the leader of a major voting bloc. Not that she was the face of the block of course. She left that to Sirius while she worked in the shadows.

"I apologize for the wait Lord Malfoy. The Minister of Magic will now see you."

Lucius was just barely able to keep himself from cringing at the sickly-sweet voice. "Thank you Madam Umbridge." He said while smiling falsely at the toad-faced woman.

Umbridge blushed ever so slightly and waved him off. "Oh, it is no problem Lord Malfoy. I told the Minister that you were here and insisted that he see you right away. But unfortunately the escape of Lockhart and Pettigrew have put such a strain on him. To think that people are actually blaming the Ministry. Preposterous."

Lucius had to try hard to keep his face from twitching at mention of the rat. He'd spent a lot of time and money trying to get that ungrateful rodent out of Azkaban. And did he show any gratitude? No. The rat simply spit in Lucius's face and scampered off into some hole or other. But Lucius was smart man. He never made a plan without making at least two others in case the first failed. The whole ordeal with the Diary had been a fluke. He'd had a backup plan ready that he was about to implement…but then word came of attacks and he decided not to. In hindsight…not his best move.

Walking into the office, the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge didn't even bother rising from his seat. But he did at least smile at Lucius. "Ah Lucius my friend! Thank you for your patience. This past month has been…trying to say the least. Haven't even been able to go home longer ten hours a day!"

Lucius had to force himself to smile. "But of course. I understand completely Minister. I can only thank you for agreeing to see me in such troubling times."

Fudge nodded to himself before turning to Umbridge. "I believe that will be all for now Dolores. I'll send a message if I have need of you again."

"But of course Minister." Umbridge smiled, bowing slightly to the Minister before bowing to Lucius and making her way out of the office and shutting the door behind her.

"Care to wet your whistle Lucius?" Fudge asked, rising from his desk and walking over to a small shelf that held a set of crystal glasses and a crystal decanter.

' _Yet another present from me.'_ "Of course." Lucius smiled politely as Fudge poured each of them two fingers of what was no doubt firewhiskey.

"So what can I do for you today Lucius?" Fudge asked as he walked over towards Lucius and handed off one of the glasses. "I'm quite busy trying to do some damage control with this whole escape from Azkaban fiasco."

"I understand completely Minister." Lucius answered cordially while taking a small sip. "In fact…that is precisely the reason I wished to speak with you today."

"Really?" Fudge asked tiltling his head to the side. "You wouldn't happen to have either of our escapees in your back pocket now would you Lucius?"

"Unfortunately no Minister." ' _In more ways than one unfortunately'._ "No. I came here today out of fear for my son."

"How so?"

Downing the last of his glass, Lucius began idly turning his empty glass. "My son returns to Hogwarts in two weeks Minister. As does Harry Potter. And as the one who is basically responsible for their capture, I worry that Mr. Potter's presence will put everyone at Hogwarts in danger."

Fudge blinked. "I – you must be joking Lucius. You honestly believe that Lockhart and Pettigrew are heading for Hogwarts just to harm Harry Potter?"

"Yes." Lucius answered quickly. "Think about it Minister. Potter caused Lockhart's down fall. And he was associated with Pettigrew's capture. And let us not forget that Pettigrew is an admitted Death Eater. Surely it would make sense for him to try and obtain some measure of vengeance against the one who destroyed his Master."

Downing the last of his glass, Fudge went back and filled it once again. "I can assure you Lucius that Hogwarts is most secured an-"

"And I believed that as well." Lucius interrupted. "But in the last two years a mountain troll has managed to get into the school. A fraud obtained the position as a professor and began assaulting students. A basilisk was discovered underneath the school." Although Lucius still had serious doubts as to the tale of Nox destroying a creation of Slytherin. "And we discovered that for nearly a decade the most wanted man in Britain has had free run of the school as a rat, and has more than likely learned every secret passage in and out of the school. Tell me Minister…does that truthfully sound like a secure location?"

He could see Fudge starting to waver. "I – I see your point Lucius. But what would you have me do?"

Setting his glass down, Lucius smiled at the Minister. "Well we, and I am speaking on behalf of several families here Minister, believe that the best option would be to send in a small group of dementor's and handlers to make sure that neither fugitive try to make a run at the school."

Fudge's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "Dementor's! Near Hogwarts! Merlin's balls Lucius…the general public would hand me my balls on a silver platter if I authorized that!"

"Not if you explain that it is for the safety of the famous 'Boy-Who-Lived'." Lucius hated playing up the Potter brat. But sometimes to get things done one must swallow their pride. "Think about it Minister. Both of these men have reason to want to harm the Potter boy. And how many students would they be willing to go through to achieve their goal? And it's not as if they would actually be on the school grounds. Just around the barrier surrounding the school. The students probably wouldn't even notice they were there."

Fudge was starting to lean towards his line of thought, he could see it in the man's eyes. "I – I don't know Lucius. I mean it sounds reasonable. But Dumbledore would have my hide if I tried this."

"Who is the Minister of Magic Cornelius?" Lucius asked, pushing on the sore spot he knew existed in the Minister. "You or Dumbledore? This is for the good of our children. And the past couple of years have shown that Dumbledore is slipping in that regard. This is your chance to out shine him. If there is no sign of either fugitive by the end of the year, then you can play it off as the dementors fulling their duty to protect the school. And if either does try and get onto school grounds, then you will be known as the man who caught the two most dangerous fugitives in recent history."

Fudge's eyes were starting to shine at the prospect. ' _Always play to your opponents weaknesses. In Fudges case…he's just a weak minded fool who wants to seem strong. And he has a healthy fear that Dumbledore is after his position._ '

"Well…I suppose I might be able to sign an official decree to bypass Dumbledore and Bones. But it might take some time."

Grimacing, Lucius reached into his pocket for a moment before extending his hand towards the Minister. "I'm sure that a man such as yourself could get this done in ten hours."

Smiling brightly, Fudge reached out and shook his hand. The palm size pouch with an extension charm passing from one hand to the other. When Lucius first started bribing Fudge the two came up with a system to express how much was being passed on. Minutes counted as hundreds. And hours counted as thousands. Ten thousand galleons was certainly no small sum. But it was a small price to pay.

"Thank you for stopping by Lucius." Fudge smiled as he pocketed the pouch. "You're idea was most excellent. I'll get the decree sent out before the end of the day."

* * *

"Good Ginny," Harry remarked, blocking another of Ginny's overhead strikes. "That one nearly got to me."

"Just you wait." Ginny grinned while taking a step back and readying herself once more. "I'll have you on your backside soon!"

After the slight diversion that was his birthday party, the quartet was back to training the very next day. Seeing as how the end of summer was only a few weeks away, Ginny had somehow managed to convince her mother to allow her to stay over at Grimmuald place for longer each day. With the only restriction being that she had to be at the Burrow for the entire day during her birthday, which was only a day away. At the moment the four were saber training in pairs with Harry squaring off against Ginny while Daphne and Susan went at each other while their Master watched on from the side.

Spinning in a tight circle, Ginny's training blade was a blur as she tried to circle to his left in an upwards slash. Blocking her slash with Djem So, he thrusted his training blade towards her. Ginny's back arched as she avoid the thrust before pirouetting on her right foot and bringing her blade back around towards his leg.

With little option left to him, Harry jumped over the blade and realized a second too late as to what Ginny's plan was. As he was up in the air Ginny kept twirling, bringing her training blade around to his unprotected side. And since he was up in the air, he couldn't maneuver out of the way. Well…not physically anyway.

Holding out his left hand, he sent a wave of the Force into Ginny throwing her a good ten feet away from him where she landed in a lump. "That's cheating!" Ginny shouted from the floor.

"There is no such thing apprentice."

All four of them stopped what they were doing, and Ginny bit her lip slightly, as Nox started walking towards them. "Rules only exist in a mock fight. In a true fight, the ones who follow the 'rules' are the ones who die. Your opponents will use every advantage they can. If your skill with a lightsaber isn't cutting it, use your magic or the Force or even your fist and feet if you have to. The winner of the fight is the last one standing. It doesn't matter how you get there. Now, go again."

Dusting herself off, Ginny got back to her feet and readied herself across from Harry. Just as the two were about to go charge one another, the door to the training room burst open. A nearly red faced Amelia Bones stormed in with a clearly confused Sirius following close on her heels. "I know our deal Nox." Amelia said quickly before his mother could comment. "But I've just come from a meeting with the minister and…well you all need to hear this."

Nox narrowed her eyes slightly in thought for a moment before nodding once. "Alright. What did the fool do now?"

"Fudge has officially gone off the deep end." Amelia ranted as she began pacing back and forth. "He's somehow been convinced that either Pettigrew or Lockhart, or both, will try to get into Hogwarts to kill Harry. Complete rubbish. But, in an effort to try and show that he's capable of doing more than just smiling for the camera's, he's assigned a squad of dementor's and handlers to constantly patrol the barrier around Hogwarts. Bloody areshole."

"Wait…what?" Sirius exclaimed. "He – he can't do that! Dumbledore wi-"

"Both Dumbledore and myself have just gotten out of a two hour meeting with our esteemed Minister Sirius." Amelia growled. "Fudge circumvented both of us by drafting a Ministry Educational Decree allowing the Ministry to send dementor's to 'protect' the students within Hogwarts if he feels that there is a need."

"I honestly didn't think Fudge could get any dumber." Everyone turned to Susan, who was staring to the side in thought. "Obviously Fudge needs to tell everyone about this, otherwise parents are going to have a field day with it once they learn from their kids that Hogwarts know has dementor's surrounding the school. His plan to catch either might've worked had no one known about the dementor's in the first place. But now that it's going to be general knowledge…well between the schools wards, Dumbledore, and now the dementor's both of our fugitives would be committing suicide trying to even step one foot inside the school."

"Impressive insight apprentice." Nox praised Susan, which brought a slow blush to the girl's cheeks. "And you're exactly right. If either of the fools were even entertaining the idea of entering the school out of some ill-conceived plot for vengeance, the moment they hear that dementor's are around the school they'll run. Unless of course Fudge is bluffing."

"If that was the case then I would actually be praising the Minister…but unfortunately it's not a bluff." Amelia sighed. "Even after I pointed out exactly what Susan just, pretty much word for word, Fudge pulled out the decree as well as the transform form already filled out and signed that assigned eight dementor's and a team of handlers to Hogwarts for the next school year."

"Merlin's beard." Sirius breathed. "The man really has gone off of his rocker. You sure we can't move up that plan to get rid of that idiot sooner rather than later Nox?"

His mother through wasn't paying attention to Sirius. Instead she was staring off to the side with a look of concentration etched across her face. "I think that it's time we took a more active role in Hogwarts." She said finally breaking the silence that'd descended on the room.

"How do you propose to do that?" Amelia asked.

"Dumbledore has been having trouble filling the spot of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor." His mother said. "Not necessarily surprising considering the fact that no teacher in the last decade and a half have lasted more than one year. And because of this, he's reached out to Remus and all but begged him to teach."

"Why Remus?" Sirius asked. "Remus and I pretty much burned just about every bridge imaginable with the old coot."

"More than likely because he assumes that Remus is on the outs with us." Nox theorized. "Think about it. Remus hasn't been seen publicly with any of us since we took the werewolves in. More than likely Dumbledore is hoping that there is some sort of rift between us. Either that or he is hoping to gleam some information about us. Either way…having him in Hogwarts will be beneficial to us. Also he's going to be teaching the four of you for the next few weeks anyway."

"Teaching us what mother?" Harry asked, sharing a curious glance with the three girls.

"Well, seeing as how he's the one who taught me, I figured he would be the perfect teacher to teach you four how to cast the patronus charm." Nox said, smirking at their shocked expressions. "I'm not about to let you four within a dozen meters of those soul suckers without knowing it. So if you want to go back to school this year…you'd better pay attention to him."

* * *

The Hand tried to sleep, but they couldn't. It'd been so long since they'd heard the Master's voice that they were starting to go insane. The Master had shown the Hand so much that the Hand could scarcely believe what a fool they'd been. But for the past three months the Hand hadn't heard from the Empress at all! ' _Why won't the Master talk to me? The Master…isn't disappointed with me is she? No…no she can't be! I haven't been able to do anything! The Master knows this…she told me I was to bide my time. But why hasn't she contacted me?!'_

 _"Because I was busy my Hand."_

The Hand instantly shot up in her bed and started looking around widely. " _Master!"_

 _"There is no need to shout my Hand. I can hear you just fine."_

 _"Forgive me Master!"_ The Hand begged, going to their knees and pressing their face to the surface of their bed.

" _There is nothing to forgive my Hand. Now stop prostrating yourself."_

" _Yes Master."_ The Handsat back and rested her back against the nearest wall. " _Why have you abandoned me Master?"_

" _I have not abandoned you my Hand. Never think that. There was much that needed to be done and it distracted me for some time."_

" _Forgive my lack of faith Master."_ The Hand thought bowing their head. " _But I – I – "_

 _"You have been betrayed too often to trust so easily. I understand. But know that I will never betray you my Hand. You are essential in the events that are to come. But you must be patient my Hand. Your time for vengeance and for claiming your price will come. But not yet."_

 _"I understand Master."_ The Hand thought, pulling their knees up to their chest and wrapping their arms around their legs.

" _Good. And know that when the time comes for your vengeance…you will no longer be my Hand. You will take your rightful place as my Wrath._ "

The Hand felt a jolt of excitement course through her. The Master's Wrath. Never had the Hand thought that they would reach such a position of honor with the Master! " _Thank you Master! I will wait for eternity if that is what it takes to be your Wrath."_

 _"Good. Now rest my Hand. Recite the code I have bestowed upon you. Meditate and build your strength. And when the time comes…the entire world will know your power!"_

" _Yes my Master."_ The Hand intoned, laying back down on their bed as they began reciting the code the Master had given them. " _I will not fail you my Master."_

* * *

The day after Remus had agreed to take the positon as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Harry was standing side by side with Daphne, Susan, and Ginny in the training room listening to their first lecture from their new professor. Standing along the back wall were his mother, Sirius, and Amelia. Each of whom had decided amongst themselves that Remus was the best suited to teach them the spell, seeing as how he was the one who taught it to both Sirius and Nox. And considering he was going to be their defense teacher in a few weeks, this was good practice for him.

"Now like all magic, the Patronus Charm is effected by intent. You have to want to drive the dementor's off in order for this charm to work. However unlike other magical spells, the key to the Patronus Charm is that one must call upon a powerful positive memory in order for the spell to work."

"Why?" Ginny asked biting her lip.

"Because the dementor's feed on positive emotion." Susan answered with confidence.

"You are right and wrong Susan." Remus answered making Susan blink. "Dementor's feed on emotions period. Be they positive or negative. The reason that this charm works is because dementor's are the embodiment of…well negative for a lack of a better description. Their very presence will dampen any positive feelings in the area while at the same time accepting any negative emotions. The Patronus Charm works by taking a positive memory and turning into a corporeal shield that forces dementor's away."

"Is there any way to kill them?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

Rubbing at the light stubble on his jaw, Remus looked pensive for a moment before shaking his head. "At the moment, no one knows if there is a way Harry. This spell was created by Merlin himself after he spent years researching a way to keep the dementor's from tormenting the coast. Although…I suppose that if someone overpowered this charm in a confined area or if multiple people used it to box a dementor in it might be theoretically possible. But it's never been done before."

Drawing his wand Remus held it up, pointing towards the ceiling. "Now motions for this spell is a simple swish and jab and the incantation is _expecto patronum._ But like I said earlier. This spell will only work if you have a powerful positive emotion in mind while you cast. Now watch carefully. _Expecto patronum!"_

The tip of Remus's wands lit up before exploding outwards in a wave of light. A large silver semi-corporeal wolf landed on the ground and started prowling around Remus. "This is what it looks like when you cast this spell correctly." He said, and then with a swish of his wand the wolf disappeared. "Each of your corporeal patronus's will have differing shapes, something that holds some sort of meaning to you. This only happens if the spell is done with a powerful memory. If you use a weaker memory it will only create a light mist that will only repel one or two dementor's. But with a powerful memory you can create a corporeal one that can drive away dozens. So for the next few minutes I want each of you to think of the most powerful positive memory you have."

Nodding, the four of them closed their eyes, almost as one, and focused. Which wasn't necessarily easy considering after only a few seconds Harry could feel the joy and happiness radiating off of Ginny. He could hardly imagine how hard this was for Daphne at the moment considering the power she wielded.

Harry wasn't sure just how long the four of them stayed mediating, but soon enough all of them had a set of power memories at the forefront of their minds. "Alright." Remus said facing Harry first. "Why don't you go first Harry."

Drawing his wand, Harry put his chosen memory to the forefront of his mind, a simple memory when he and his mother had a picnic next to a waterfall, before swishing and jabbing his wand. " _Expecto Patronum!"_

The tip of his wand lit up in a dull light and a light mist slowly crept out from the end of his wand, but that was it. "Whoa." Harry breathed more than slightly breathlessly. That one spell winded him more than a two mile run.

"Close." Remus said, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder to help him stand upright. "But that wasn't nearly a powerful enough memory Harry. What you just did was brute force the spell. Which, while doable, is extremely dangerous as it could exhaust you to the point of unconsciousness or even death. Now I want you to think of a different memory. Now Ginny, why don't you give a try?"

Harry watched on as a look off concentration came over Ginny's face. " _Expecto Patronum!"_

The tip of her wand glowed far brighter than Harry's had, and a strong mist started pouring out of the end. "Impressive Ginny!" Remus clapped, his eyes wide. "Honestly I didn't think any of you would even get to the point Harry is at. Out of curiosity, what was the memory that you used?"

Ginny spared a brief glance towards Harry. "Um…the time when Harry helped me out and uh…took he as his apprentice."

Remus nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah that would do it. I'd say quite a bit of practice and you can probably hold back a few dementor's with that mist. Now Daphne your turn."

Unlike Harry and Ginny, Daphne didn't hesitate before drawing her wand across her body. " _Expectro Patronum!"_

Just like Ginny a strong mist started pouring out from the end of Daphne's wand. But unlike Ginny's try, Daphne's mist actually started to congeal slightly before dissipating and leaving Daphne bent over and breathless.

If Remus had been completely shocked at Ginny's display, he was breathless at Daphne's. "Merlins sag – that is incredible Daphne! I would say some more practice with whatever memory that was and you'd be able to produce a corporeal patronus before you lot are back at Hogwarts." Chuckling slightly, Remus rubbed at his forehead. "Merlin save me from overachievers. You lot are going to be putting me out of a job before I even get through the doors! Now Susan, your turn."

Nodding Susan raised her wand and took a deep breath. " _Expecto Patronum!"_

Her results were similar to Ginny in that she was able to produce a strong mist, but that was it. "Impressive." Remus nodded as the mist slowly died. "A different memory might be needed…but practice with that one should keep a dementor away. Now let's start again. Harry, you're up."

Licking his lips, Harry held his wand up. "Remus…does it have to be an actual memory?"

"What do you mean?" Remus asked while tilting his head slightly.

Frowning, Harry stared intently at his wand. "You said that the key to this spell is a powerful positive memory. But what if it doesn't have to be a memory? What if it just has to be a powerful positive desire? Like something you wish could happen?"

Remus stared at him for a moment before looking away and chuckling. "How did you manage _not_ to get sorted into Ravenclaw Harry?" He laughed rubbing the back of his head. "In theory it's possible I guess. But I've never known anyone to go about it with that route. But if you want to give it a try, I'm certainly not going to stop you."

Nodding slowly, Harry closed his eyes and took a slow breath in. Focusing on the thought he'd envisioned, he slowly opened his eyes as he let out the breath he was holding. " _Expecto Patronum!"_

Harry nearly had to shield his eyes as a bright thick mist erupted from the end of his wand. Then to his shock the mist solidified and a two-meter tall stag burst out of the end of his wand and began trotting around the training hall.

"Bloody hell…" Remus breathed watching with wide eyes as the stag proudly trotted around him. "Prongs."

Harry blinked, not quite sure why Remus had said what he had. But before he could ask his body went completely limp and he crashed to the floor as his stag patronus disappeared.

He vaguely heard three different high pitched voices scream his name as he blinked, completely confused, from his spot on the floor. "Bloody hell." Harry breathed as he tried, and failed, to rise up onto his elbows. "Did anyone get the number of that bus?"

"Blood idiot!" Ginny chastised him while lightly kicking him in the arm. "Now is not the time for jokes!"

Sirius, after pushing his way through the ring of girls that'd surrounded Harry, held out his hand to help him up. "I don't know." Sirius smirked while pulling Harry up, only to catch him once more as soon as the two let go of each other. "His timing may need a little more work…but it was a pretty good one-liner."

Using Sirius as a semi-brace, he turned towards Remus. "Wh – what just happened?"

Remus, finally overcoming his shock at seeing Harry's corporeal patronus, merely shook his head. "You just did something that many believe to be impossible Harry." He explained meeting Harry's gaze head on. "A fully-corporeal patronus at your age? Merlin, that's pretty much unheard of. And in many respects considered impossible. I believe Dumbledore is the current record holder for youngest ever to cast it. And he was twenty-two at the time. Honestly I wasn't expecting any of you to even get past forming a light mist today. That guess that shows what happens when you underestimate Nox's training regimen."

Feeling more than slightly proud at the praise, Harry smirked for a moment before remembering something else. "Remus…you said Prongs. What does my father have to do with…wait…you said his animagus form was a stag didn't you?"

"Yeah." Sirius said softly. "Even from across the room Harry…there is no doubt about it. Your patronus…it's an exact copy of your father's animagus. He always said he would watch out for you…no matter what. Guess's he's keeping his promise even from beyond the grave."

Harry was stunned. Swallowing the lump that'd formed in his throat he closed his eyes. "Thank you…dad."

* * *

Dragging his trunk behind him, Harry led Daphne, her sister Astoria and Susan through the narrow corridors of the Hogwarts Express while checking the compartments trying to find any of their friends that might've arrived before them. As they walked, the quartet were the recipients of no small amount of curious glances, double takes, or even sometimes outright hostility. Most of which were directed towards either Harry or Daphne. Cause after all…it was completely blasphemous for a Slytherin to be consorting with the 'Boy-Who-Lived' or for said boy to be consorting with a Slytherin pending on one's point of view.

Finally spotting a familiar head of blond hair, Harry stopped and opened the compartment. "Hello Harry Potter." Luna said, lowering her upside down magazine just far enough so she could peer over the edge of it. "And Daphne. And Susan."

"Hello Luna." Harry smiled as the three of them made their way into the compartment. Lifting his trunk he threw it up into the overhead compartment before repeating the process with both Susan's and Daphne's. "Did you have a good summer?"

"Yes, it was quite enjoyable." Luna said dreamily. "Father and I had a wonderful time hunting for rare creatures. But I hope that next summer our adventure can be as entertaining as the one you had with Ginny with summer. I was rather jealous of her. Exploring a long lost tomb…ah well. At least your lap hasn't been claimed yet. I was worrying about that…considering how much time you've been spending with Ginny."

It was only because he'd spent nearly all of last year around Luna that he managed to keep himself from reacting. ' _Force…mother thought that she would be powerful…but this is almost getting to the point of being ridiculous!'_

"I'm sure it will be." Harry said, then blushed as Luna gave him a coy smile. "I mean next summer! I'm sure that it'll be interesting!"

"I'm sure it will Harry Potter." Luna responded before ducking back behind her magazine.

Across from him both Susan and Daphne started snickering. "Bloody traitors." He mumbled before turning and gazing out the window facing the platform.

A few minutes later they were joined by Hermione. "Here you all are!" The bushy-haired girl exclaimed as Harry stood and took her luggage from here. "Where have you all been hiding?"

"We haven't been hiding Hermione." Luna said from behind her magazine. "Although I do find Hide and Seek rather fun. Perhaps we could play it this year."

"It's a muggle saying Luna." Susan explained after seeing the expression on Hermione's face. "How was your summer Hermione?"

A few minutes later Tracey and Hannah both made their appearance and the rounds of hello's and catching up restarted. Leaning back in his seat, Harry stared out the window and smirked. "So, anyone wanna take place an over/under bet on when the Weasley's will show up? Say…five minutes?"

"That's a sucker bet Harry." Susan smirked. "But I'll be happy to take your money. One galleon says under five."

"That wasn't smart Susan." Luna said without looking up. "They're already here."

Susan's eyes widened before she leaned over far enough to look out the window. "Bloody cheater." She mumbled upon spotting the group of redheads that'd arrived uncharacteristically early before opening her purse and handing a single galleon over to Harry. "Hope you choke on it."

Laughing, Harry started rolling the galleon across his knuckles as Daphne and Astoria both chuckled at Susan's misfortune. Less than few minutes later the door to the compartment opened. "See Ronald." Ginny said calmly walking in and handing off her luggage to Harry, who in turned placed it up into the overhead rack. "I told you that I could find them."

"Bloody cheater." Ron mumbled after tucking his own luggage away. "Don't know how you managed to find them. You weren't even looking!"

"Ginny always knows where Harry is." Daphne said, shooting the both of them a sly grin.

Still mumbling, Ron turned around then blinked almost stupidly as he saw just how many of them were in the compartment. "Wait a minute…I've never seen a compartment this big before!"

"Honestly Ronald." Hermione sighed. "Haven't you read 'Hogwarts: A History' yet?"

"Um…no."

"Well if you had then you would know that the compartments are enchanted to expand magically to adjust to the number of people within the compartment." Astoria answered surprising everyone. "How else to you think they manage to fit an entire schools worth of students, workers, and a small dinning car into a six car train?"

Grumbling more than slightly about 'another bloody 'know-it-all', Ron took his seat nearest to the door and across from Hermione. Ron actually lasted for a few seconds before doing a double take. "Wait…who are you munchkin?"

"This is my sister Astoria, not munchkin." Daphne answered. "Don't worry, she already knows about all of you."

"Oh, don't take too much offense Astoria." Ginny said quickly. "He unfortunately spent the majority of the summer grounded for-"

"There's no reason to bring that up!" Ron shouted turning completely red. "Just…don't."

"Then mind your manners Ron." Ginny shot back sweetly.

With a lurch the train shook and began slowly pulling away from the station. "So Ginny," Harry said once they had cleared the platform. "Have you had any luck with that lockbox my mother gave you?"

In a rather surprising turn of events, his mother had gifted Ginny with a very familiar lockbox on their last day of summer training. Frowning, Harry could feel her frustration slipping through their bond. "No…don't suppose that you are will to give me a hint?"

"Can't." Harry smirked. "It's for you to figure out."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked curiously. "I heard that you were spending some time with Harry and his mother this summer. Did you learn anything interesting? And what's this about a lockbox?"

"More like the whole bloody summer." Ron grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It was necessary Ronald." Luna said over the edge of her magazine. "Ginny was…a special case. But soon we'll all be together."

"Right…still can't understand half of what you say most of the time Luna." Hannah said shaking her head before turning to the others. "So what classes are you all taking?"

"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination." Ron answered quickly. "Supposed to be fairly easy. And it'll leave more time for me to train for quidditch! This is Woods last year…I'm hoping next year I'll be able to take his place if I impress him."

"Sounds reasonable enough." Harry said, shooting Hermione a quick glance as she looked ready to reprimand him for taking the 'easy way out'. "I'm taking Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy."

"Same here." Daphne as said while Susan nodded her acknowledgement as well.

"Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures for me." Tracey added. "Don't really have the head for all those numbers."

"Ancient Runes and Arithmancy." Hannah said.

Everyone turned now to Hermione, who seemed to curl in on herself slightly. "Um…all of them."

Harry, as well as everyone else, stared at Hermione in confusion. "Umm, what did you just say Hermione?" Harry asked, not quite believing what he'd just heard.

"I said that I'm talking all of them." Hermione answered back. "Ancient Runes. Arithmancy. Care of Magical Creatures. Divination. And Muggle Studies. I'm taking all five."

"How?" Hannah asked completely confounded. "And why? You're muggleborn. Why would you want to take muggle studies?"

"And you won't care for Divination Hermione." Luna added, actually lowering her magazine so she could meet Hermione's eyes. "In fact…you'll walk out after throwing a crystal ball across the class in four weeks."

"Hermione." Daphne said drawing Hermione's attention. "You don't need to prove anything to us. Or anyone for that matter. We all know that you're probably one of the smartest witches of our age. And even I'm willing to admit that. You don't need to kill yourself to prove it."

Hermione's jaw dropped as she stared at Daphne. "Wh – what? How….how do you…I mean-"

Harry fell forward as the train suddenly lurched without reason and the lights went out. It was only because of his Jedi taining that he managed to get his arm up in time to catch his fall before he collided too hard with Susan. Unfortunately…or perhaps fortunately if he'd asked Sirius, he still ended up going face first right into Susan's chest.

"Ummm, sorry about that." Harry mumbled, withdrawing from Susan with completely red face. ' _Force…I knew they were…developing…but Force…'_

Susan, equally red faced, waved him off. "It's fine Harry. It was an accident after all."

"What's going on?" Hermione asked while looking around frantically. "We – we can't be anywhere near Hogwarts yet!"

Harry made to answer, but stopped. The temperature in the cabin was dropping fast. Snapping his left wrist, his wand dropped out into his hand as he began to see the mist forming off his breath. Around him he saw noticed that all of the others in the cabin had drawn their wands as well.

"Harry…" Ginny gasped as the temperature dropped even further.

Ice began coating the glass panel on the sliding door leading out of the compartment. Within seconds the clear glass had become completely opaque as the ice covered every inch of the panel. Just beyond the iced over glass, Harry could just barely make out a large silhouette passing by their compartment.

'- _move or not pathetic mudblood.'_

Harry shook his head as his breath started coming out in short pants. ' _That…that was Voldemort's voice! But…but he…he didn't say anything like that back-'_

 _'You want Harry…you'll have to go through me.'_

Harry nearly dropped his wand as his body started shacking almost violently. ' _That…that voice…was it…was it my mum?'_

' _Aveda Kedavra.'_

"Harry!"

Harry jerked. He was shaking bad, his wand visibly moving as he held it towards the door. The silhouette that'd been passing by their door had stopped and the door handle was slowly starting to turn.

With a deafening 'click', the latch opened and the door slide to the side just far enough for a skeleton like hand to snake its way through the gap and grasp hold of the door.

" _E – epecto…Part – Patronum…"_

His wand failed to even glimmer slightly. ' _Now you must remember.'_ He heard Remus's voice say in his mind. ' _Dementor's call upon your worst memories and throw them back at you to inflict suffering, which makes it infinitely more difficult to cast this spell in their presence. If you face one down…you must clear your mind of everything but that memory.'_

There was nearly a foot wide gap in the door now. Around him he could hear the girls and Ron shivering and stuttering as the few that knew the charm tried, and failed, to invoke it. As the door slid open just a few more inches, a robe covered hood peered in through the opening.

Harry had been in the presence of his mother when she'd pulled deeply on the dark side before. He remembered the cold, the feel of death that gripped his heart. But now, standing in front of this creature and peering into the depths of his hood with the voice of his mother echoing through his head…he wanted to do nothing more than curl up into a small ball and die.

"No!"

The scream cut through his sharper than any lightsaber. Behind him Daphne had collapsed to the floor, her hands clutching at her hair. "It's…oh Morgana…no! No get out! Get out! Get out!"

Peering out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the dementor had turned its attention fully to Daphne and had started to reach out one skeleton like hand towards his fellow apprentice.

"No!" Harry shouted, placing himself in-between the two. "You can't have her!"  
The dementor's head cocked slightly to the side, its hand changing direction and heading towards Harry. In his head the voice of his mother and Voldemort were bouncing around almost like the bells of Notre Dame!

Drawing deep on the Jedi half of his training, Harry brought forth the thought that'd helped him produce his patronus. The vision shown to him by the Mirror of Erised. A vision of his mother and his birth parents standing by his side together. Raising his wand, he gritted his teeth and forced the memory, as well as his desire to protect Daphne and destroy the one who'd caused her such agony. " _Expecto Patronum!"_

The end of his wand exploded in a light far more powerful than ever before. He could just barely make out the image of his stag spearing the dementor with its antlers before exploding in a shower of light so bright he was forced to turn away. He could just barely make out the sound of his friends crying out in alarm as a loud piercing scream of pure agony rang out. And then the light was gone and Harry was fast approaching the floor as darkness claimed his vision.

* * *

 **Well hope that you all liked it. Just a little post note here. Whoever can correctly identify who the 'Hand' is first, then you get to ask any question you want about the future plot of the story. Leave your guesses in the review section or PM me your answer and I will let you know. One guess per person.**

 **See y'all in the next chapter!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So I've gotten a few questions asking to clarify who uses what lightsaber forms. So here we go:**

 **Lightsaber forms by user:**

 **Harry Potter – Djem So (Form V), Juyo (Form VII, later in the story)**

 **Daphne Greengrass – Niman (switching her from Juyo) (Form VI)**

 **Susan Bones – Makashi (Form II)**

 **Ginny Weasley – Ataru (Form IV)**

 **Just want to take a quick moment to thank everyone who has added this story to their alerts or favorites. And a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! Please keep it up! Reviews definitely help me write faster! (Although GOT and different ideas jumping around my head are not making this easy lol)**

 **I apologize if I didn't get around to answering your reviews from the last chapter, the past two weeks and the two weeks coming up were and are going to be hectic. Therefore, be prepared if I don't necessarily get the next chapter out in two weeks like I've been trying too.**

 **Hope that you all enjoy this chapter! And please leave a review!**

 **Chapter 16**

"Harry…Harry can you hear me?"

Groaning, Harry was only vaguely aware of a pair of hands helping him to sit up against something hard as several voices continued to ask him over and over if he was alright. "I'm fine." He mumbled before slowly opening his eyes and meeting the eyes of the one who'd helped him sit up. "Remus?"

"Well at least your memory and vision are still intact." Remus smiled at him before holding up a large candy bar breaking off a large piece. "Here, it's chocolate. It helps to negate the aftereffects of an encounter with a dementor."

Seeing as how the rest of his friends were all chewing on their own respective pieces, with Daphne's piece being easily twice as large as his own, he took the offered piece and began to slowly chew on the large chunk of candy. "What…what happened? I don't remember anything after casting the patronus charm."

The other's in the compartment all started looking at each other wearily, which of course did nothing to reassure Harry. "Well Harry," Remus chuckled pointing over his shoulder. "I think we can add, 'doer of impossible feats' next to your 'Boy-Who-Lived' title."

Looking over his shoulder, Harry felt the chocolate fall from his lips. The wall of their compartment was…gone. And wall outside was covered in a thick black goo intermixed with black cloth. "Force…" Harry murmured. "I – I did that when I drove off the dementor? I didn't think a patronus could do something like that."

"No Harry, that wasn't because you drove the dementor off." Remus responded. "That happened because your patronus destroyed the dementor."

Harry could do little more than just stare, not quite believe what he'd been told. "I – what?" He finally managed to get out. "I thought that you said dementor's couldn't be killed?"

"And until a few minutes ago that was what was widely believed. But the…well what's left of the dementor anyway is proving quite the opposite." Pulling out another large chocolate bar from his inner coat pocket, Remus passed it on to Harry before standing. "Now share that with the others. I'm going to go and talk to the conductor about getting us going again. But first…how about we do something about this mess."

Pulling his wand from his robes, Remus turned towards the wreckage. With a single wave of his wand all of the black gore and cloth disappeared. And then with a second wave of his wand the cabin wall and door were back. "There, just like new." Remus said, opening the door to the cabin and taking a step out before turning back to face them. "Now all of you eat up. I'm going to have little chat with those blasted 'handlers' about their charges."

Once the door shut behind Remus, Harry picked up his dropped piece of chocolate and began chewing slowly on it while staring absentmindedly at the recently repaired train wall. In his mind he could still see the giant hole in the wall covered with black gore and bits of black cloth ' _More than likely all that is left of the dementor.'_

"Merlin's beard Harry." Ron finally chuckled, ending the silence. "You really don't do anything halfway do you?"

"Apparently not." He mumbled back before getting up from the floor and moving so that he could sit down next to Daphne. "Are you alright Daphne?"

Chewing on her chocolate, Daphne nodded slowly. "Yes…it's just…you know I can't fully control it and…and those things…Morgana. I don't care if I ever see them again."

"Neither do I Daphne." Harry remarked.

"Speaking of the dementor's Harry." Hermione said casting a weary glance towards the recently repaired cabin wall. "What was that spell that you just used!? It had to be incredibly advanced."

"It's the patronus charm." Susan answered for him. "When my aunt learned that there were going to be dementor's stationed at the school this year, despite her and Dumbledore protesting the action, she insisted that we learn the charm to repel them."

"Repel them?" Hannah breathed. "I think Harry did more than just 'repel' them Susan."

"I put too much into it." Harry said biting his lip.

"What do you mean mate?" Ron asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I think it's obvious Ron." Ginny said sarcastically. "Harry put enough power into his spell to blow out an entire wall and kill a creature that was previously thought to be un-killable."

"Right." Ron said sullenly. "I knew that."

"And before you start begging Hermione," Susan said as Hermione opened her mouth to say something, "I'm positive that Remus – Professor Lupin – would be happy to teach all of you the charm."

As his friends continued to discuss the dementor's and the patronus charm, Harry looked out the window and let his mind wander as he saw the country side begin to pass them by once more. ' _Force. Just once I would like to have a normal year at school. But apparently that is far too much to ask for.'_

* * *

"Merlin…I can't believe you talked me into this Harry! It isn't even the second day of classes yet and you already have me breaking curfew." Hermione whispered fiercely as she looked around nervously.

"It's not like this is the first time we've broken curfew 'Mione." Ron shot back lightly. "Think you'd be used to this by now."

"Well…that's beside the point Ronald!" Hermione mumbled back. "I just…didn't think we'd be breaking the rules before the first week was even done!"

Peering over his shoulder at his two arguing friends, Harry merely shook his head. Those two would never change. But thankfully one thing had changed after the first day, and that was Hermione's mind. After the sorting ceremony Professor McGonagall had asked to see her in private, and when Hermione came back she looked somewhat down, but told them all that she and McGonagall spoke for quite some time, and in the end Hermione decided that it would be best for her to only take Runes, Arthimancy, and Care of Magical Creatures.

"Merlin…it's like they're already married." Ginny grumbled softly next to him.

Smirking, Harry shook his head and spared a glance back down at the map in his hands.

The map was incredible. It was one thing to be told about what it could do, it was quite another thing to actually see it in action. Each floor of the castle had its own section on the large piece of parchment. And on each floor there were little footprints that were marked with the name of every person currently in the castle. Being as how it was so late at night, almost all of the names were clustered into the individual dorms. The only names out in the castle were a couple of teachers as well as two students that he assumed were Prefects doing rounds. There were also three other pairs of students out in the castle…all of whom were in rooms that were clearly marked by the map as 'broom closets'. Remus was standing right next to one of the pairs of students.

Ascending the last of the stairs, the four of them finally reached the seventh floor. And just as the map showed, they were the last of their group to arrive. "Finally." Daphne said as she turned to face them. "What took you four so long?"

"Nearly ran into Snape." Harry said, tucking the map into the inside of his robes. "The grease ball was camped out just outside of the Gryffindor common room. Even with my father's invisibility cloak we still had to wait ten minutes for him to move on so we could open the entrance to the common room without him spotting us."

Hermione looked like she wanted to say something about his 'grease ball' comment, but amazingly she simply shook her head. ' _Perhaps she's finally getting rid of that ridiculous trust in authority.'_

Walking past his friends, Harry made his way down to the painting of Barnabas the Barmy. Sparing the mad wizard and his dancing trolls a single glance, Harry began pacing back and forth.

"Hey mate…did you forget where we're going?" Ron asked as Harry turned on his heel for the second time. "The rooms right down there."

"That isn't the room that we're going to be using this year." Daphne said as Harry turned for the final time.

As he passed by the painting for the third time he heard everyone gasp. The wall that'd been opposite the painting was gone. Replaced by a large set of ornate doors that'd morphed out of the very wall itself. Marching up to the doors, Harry grabbed hold of the handle and pulled it open. "This is where we'll be practicing from now on."

Daphne, Susan and Ginny were the first ones in with Luna, and Astoria right on their heels. Hermione, Ron, Hannah, and Tracey all hesitated for only a moment before following the others. After everyone was in the room Harry stepped in and pulled the door shut behind him.

Everyone save for Daphne and Susan were standing stock still just within the entrance to the room of requirement. The room itself had transformed into an almost exact replica of the training hall back in Grimmuald Place. With a few modifications that Harry had thought would be helpful. A large sparing circle was dominated the center of the room. A set of muntuur stones were sitting in one corner of the room. And in another corner was a large set of varying balancing posts with the smallest being only a foot off the ground and the tallest reaching twenty feet. And all along the walls were bookshelves filled with hundreds of tomes of magic.

"Welcome to the room of requirement." Harry said walking past his stunned friends until he stood in front of them with Daphne and Susan flanking him on either side. "This is where we're going to be practicing from here on out."

Hermione, Ron, Tracey, Luna and Hannah were all staring around the room completely dumbfounded. Even Ginny and Astoria were silent as they stared at the almost perfect recreation of the training hall. "Bloody hell Harry." Ron breathed after several long moments. "You really don't do anything halfway."

Hermione however, after taking one last look around, narrowed her eyes at Harry. "Why didn't you show us this room before?" She demanded. "Obviously you three have known about it for some time…so why didn't you bring us here last year?"

"Because we weren't ready." Luna answered before Harry could. "Our minds weren't protected enough last year."

"Luna's right." Harry nodded. "While we trust all of you, we don't trust certain people in this school. This room is perhaps one of the best kept secrets of the school, not even Snape and Dumbledore know about it. We think. But still, we didn't want to take the chance of its location being plucked from your minds without you even knowing. And while you're barriers are still not perfect, at least now you'll be able to fight back against anyone trying to enter your minds."

Even Hermione had to agree to that logic. Albeit reluctantly. "So why bring us up here tonight?" Tracey asked looking around. "I don't know about the rest of you…but it's kind of late to start training isn't it?"

"We're not going to train tonight." Harry said before pausing to take a calming breath. "Tonight is more or less a history lesson for all of you. But perhaps a change of scenery first."

Closing his eyes, Harry changed what he wanted from the training room to a nice lounge were everyone could sit comfortably. Hearing several loud gasps, Harry opened his eyes to see that the training room was indeed gone. And in its placed was a room that looked remarkably like the Gryffindor common room complete with a low burning fire. "Well," he said taking of the couches for himself, "might as well make yourselves comfortable."

Once everyone had found a spot on either the couches or the armchairs, Harry began to absentmindedly rub at his chin. "Well…honestly I'm not sure how to start this conversation." He said honestly. "I suppose the best place to start is with my mother. Or more specifically…the order to which my mother once belonged."

Hannah, Hermione, Tracey, and Ron all shared confused glances with one another. "Is she…part of some secret coven?" Tracey asked slowly.

"No." Harry answered quickly. "Well…not really. It has to do with how she was taught to use magic. You see…the group of magical users she belongs to don't call it magic. They call it the Force."

"The Force?" Hermione deadpanned.

"The Force, magic, sorcery, witchcraft. Does it really matter what it's called?" Daphne asked Hermione pointedly. "In the end it's all the same."

"Remember when we started I told you all that my mother taught us a different way to use magic? And how I was going to pass on what she taught us to you?" Harry questioned, waiting until everyone nodded before continuing. "What I've been teaching you is basically how to use the Force."

"So…you're saying that all Force users can use wandless magic?" Hannah asked hesitantly. "Why aren't they well known then? Wandless magic is almost considered to be a gift from Merlin himself!"

"The people who use the Force over magic are rather…reclusive around here." Before the year began, his mother had told him that he could tell his friends just about everything, save for the fact that she was not from this planet. She still wanted that information to be privileged for the moment. "But we can come back to that later. Now just like magic, the Force can be broken down into a dark and a light side. And because of this, two distinct orders were created. The Jedi, who used the light side. And the Sith, who used the dark side."

"So your mother is a…what was it again? A Jedi? Basically a light witch right?" Ron asked slowly.

Beside him, both Daphne, Astoria and Susan snickered. Even Ginny, who'd already heard this speech, chuckled slightly. "Not necessarily." Harry said slowly, knowing that what he was about to say was going to cause some problems. "My mother was, and in some respects still is, one of the most powerful Sith ever born."

' _Blow up in three…two…on-'_

"What!?"

Harry was truly wishing that he'd brought a camera. Hermione's face had gone completely pale and her jaw was hanging almost impossibly low. Ron's face had blanched as well. Hannah was a little better, but not much. The only one who seemed to be only slightly phased by the revelation was Tracey. "You…you've been teaching us black magic!?"  
Harry nearly winced at the high-pitched scream that came out of Hermione. "Hermione." Susan said calmly. "If you had actually paid attention just now Harry said that his mother 'was' a Sith. Meaning she isn't one anymore. At least not entirely."

"My mother spent a year in isolation and meditation before I was born." Harry pressed on before anyone else could interrupt. "It was during this time that she learned that the true power of the Force, or magic, is only revealed when both light and dark are used jointly."

"But – but Harry! It's dark magic!" Hermione gasped, with Ron nodding right along with her.

"And by the Force users definition of the light and dark side of the Force Hermione, just about every other magical spell benevolent or benign could be considered 'dark'." Harry countered quickly. "The light side of the Force teaches restraint, lack of emotions and control. While the dark side of the Force teaches one to use their emotions but with an almost reckless abandon. Granted that what I just said is an extreme simplification of the light and dark sides of the Force. But still…the Force is far more complicated than simply this is 'light' so it's good, or this is 'dark' so it's bad."

"And most magic that we know it could be considered 'dark' by the Force's definition Hermione." Susan added as Hermione looked ready to argue further. "What many people forget is that in most cases it doesn't matter whether the magic you are using is considered 'dark' or 'light'. What truly matters is how you choose to use your powers."

"We can come back to this at another time Hermione, Ron." Harry said shooting both of his friends a look that said the conversation was over for the moment. "Now where was I? Oh yes. After my mother came out of her isolation she decided to build a new order. One that was both Sith and Jedi, yet neither. And it was pretty much immediately after she came to that decision that she felt a disturbance in the Force."

"A disturbance?" Tracey asked curiously.

Nodding, Harry pressed on. "Yes. In time you'll learn to 'feel' the Force in a way. The 'disturbances' vary. It can be because you're about to be in danger, or someone powerful has come close to you. But the disturbance my mother felt led her right to my birth parents door step just minutes after Voldemort arrived. If she had arrived just a few minutes sooner…she would've confronted Voldemort directly."

Raising his hand to his eye, Harry was more than slightly surprised to feel wetness. He was tearing up. He'd never really talked about what happened that night…and he was more than slightly surprised that this was affecting him so. Ginny's small hand brushed against his free hand lightly. He could feel her trying to support him through their bond.

"But as it were." He said, sparing Ginny a thankful glance before Forcing himself to press on. "She arrived just a few moments too late. My birth parents were dead…and Voldemort was gone. She could sense other's coming so she was content to leave me be. But when she turned to leave, she was struck with a Force Vision."

"Like a prophecy?" Ron asked tilting his head to the side.

"Sort of." Harry nodded. "In the vision she saw that if she was to truly succeed at creating a new order, she would need me as much as I needed her. And because of that vision she picked me up and spirited me away so she could train me for war."

"But – but the war was over!" Hermione gapped. "Why would she need to train you for war?"

"Well that just it Hermione, the war isn't over." Taking another deep breath, Harry made eye contact with each of his friends before dropping the proverbial bomb. "Because Tom Riddle, or Voldemort as you all know him, isn't dead."

You could've heard a pin drop. The only ones that were not affected by the revelation were Daphne, Astoria, and Susan. And that was because they already knew. Even Ginny was staring at him completely speechless.

"No." Ron breathed. "No he…he can't be. Everyone knows that you defeated him when you were a child. He can't be back. He just can't!"

"Technically, he isn't back Ron." Harry continued. "Because technically while his physical body was destroyed, his spirit stayed behind."

"So…he's a ghost then?" Tracey said slowly.

Harry shook his head. "No. Well yes. But he's not like the ghosts that inhabit this castle. Before he came to my parent's home that night, he used a dark magic ritual to sheer off pieces of his soul and place them into containers that he then hid from everyone. These 'soul shards' if you will, act as an anchor to the world of the living. So long as even one of those containers still exists, his physical form can be destroyed, but his soul will never move on."

"Wait." Hermione swallowed. "You said 'containers'…as in plural? As in he made more than one?!"

Harry nodded. "That's right."

"But how do you know that all of this is true?" Hannah pressed. "I mean…I trust you…well I trust Susan and _she_ trusts you. But how do you know that…that V – V – Vol…You-Know-Who is still around. And that _he_ created these…soul shard things."

"Because Madam Nox has destroyed three of his soul containers." Susan answered.

"Three?" Ginny gasped. "H – How many of these bloody things did he create?"

"We're not entirely sure." Harry answered truthfully. "My mother believes that he intended to create at least six of them, so that there would be seven pieces of his soul including himself. Apparently Voldemort got it into his head that seven was the most magically significant number so that was why he decided to create so many. But whether he actually succeeded in doing so or not is something that we don't truly know."

"But…but how do you know that he's still around?" Hannah asked.

"Because I fought him during our first year." Harry answered.

"What?!" Tracey, Hannah, and Ron all shouted at the same time.

"Voldemort was possessing Quirrell." Daphne continued for Harry. "And Harry…in his infinite stupidity, decided it would be a good idea to go after the both of them alone."

"The end of the year." Hermione said quietly before looking up at him. "You confronted him at the end of the year didn't you? I knew there was something off about that whole story Dumbledore tried to push on us."

"That's right." Harry nodded. "I'm not quite sure why he did it, but the reason that Dumbledore had had the third floor corridor sealed off was because he was hiding the Philosopher's Stone here in the castle."

"The Philosopher's Stone!?" Hermione gasped. "It – it was in the castle?"

"Yes."

"Wait…" Ron said slowly. "Just what is the Philosopher's stone?"

"It is the pinnacle of alchemy." Daphne answered. "Only one person in history has been known to actually successfully create one. But as for the stone itself, it's said that with it one can transmute any metal into pure gold. And it can create the elixir of life allowing a person to theoretically live forever."

"The Stone can also be used for another purpose." Harry continued. "It can be used to artificially create a body. And like a moth to a flame, Voldemort was drawn to it so he could create a new body to house his soul."

"…Merlin's saggy balls…" Ron breathed.

Amazingly enough, Hermione didn't even correct his language. "And…and you confronted both Quirrell an – and Who-Kn…V-V-Voldemort before he could get it?"

"Yes."

"Bloody hell mate!" Ron shouted rising to his feet, his face turning slightly red. "Why didn't you take us with you!?"

"Because I had a vision of your deaths." Harry said flatly. "Every night for over a week. You and Hermione would follow me down and I would watch you either die or get seriously injured. Then it would switch to Daphne and Susan…but the results would be the same. Even if all four of you came with me…I would have to watch as you all got hurt. So when the night came that I knew that Quirrell and Voldemort were going to make their move…I went after them by myself. I know it was selfish…but you guys were truly my first and best friends. I didn't want anything to happen. To any of you."

"That wasn't your decision to make Harry!" Hermione shouted, rising to her feet. "We're your friends…it was our decision to make…no matter the consequences."

"Believe me Hermione, my mother spent the majority of the summer making sure that _that_ lesson was firmly ingrained before I came back to school for our second year." Harry said, throwing a look out of the corner of his eye as both Susan and Daphne chuckled at the memory of his summer from hell.

"But how did you manage to defeat Quirrell and – and Who-Know…oh bloody hell. Voldemort?" Tracey managed to get out. "I mean…you're a powerful wizard there's no doubt about that. But how could you, a boy of eleven, manage to take down a former Death Eater and the Dark Lord?"

"Well…that has to do in part with my mother's training."

Rising to his feet, Harry reimagined the training room in his mind, and instantly all of his friends started yelling at him. "Harry!" Hermione growled, rubbing her backside. The only person who seemed to have escaped the sudden disappearance of the couches was Luna.

Rubbing the back of his head, Harry awkwardly held out his hand to help Ginny up. "Um, sorry about that." He said helping Ginny up before moving on to Daphne. "Still not completely used to this room."

Once everyone was back on their feet, Harry took a few steps back before flicking his right hand off to his side. His lightsaber hilt dropped out from his wrist holder and into his open hand. "This," he said holding the hilt up. "Is the weapon of the Sith and the Jedi. And it's how I managed to beat a wizard three times my age and Voldemort."

"That…that looks like muggle torch Harry." Hannah said, tilting her head to the side as she looked at it.

"Looks," Harry said slowly, lowering his lightsaber off to his side. "Can be very deceiving."

With a snap hiss his lightsaber activated as his purplish blade extended from the hilt. "Bloody hell!"

Harry wasn't quite sure which was the most amusing. The look on his friends face's as he showed them his lightsaber, or the look on Hermione's face when she realized that she'd just been the one to curse. "Language Hermione." Harry joked, making Hermione turn an impressive shade of red.

"That thing is bloody well wicked Harry." Ron said, coming a few steps closer and leaning over slightly so he could look at it better. "Is it…is it a sword then?"

"Of course it's a sword Ronald." Tracey huffed, before turning slightly unsure. "Um…it is a sword right?"

"It's a lightsaber." Harry explained, holding the sword out across his body so they could all see it. "Unlike a metal sword, a lightsaber's blade is made up pure energy. I can adjust how 'sharp' I want the blade to be. I can make it as dull as a beater bat that delivers little more than a slight shock. Or I can make it 'sharp' enough to cut through stone and steel like they were paper. But they also have an added bonus to them as well. Daphne, if you would please?"

Nodding, Daphne motioned for everyone to take a step back before she drew her wand. More than a few curious glances were being thrown about as she then pointed her wand right at him. " _Stupify."_

With a casual wave of his sword, Harry deflected the spell away from himself and the others and into the wall. Hannah, Hermione, Ron, Tracey, and even Luna were staring at the blade with open mouths. "The lightsaber is partially magical." Harry explained, holding his blade up. "The key component to a lightsaber is a kyber crystal, which is a highly magical crystal that can either be found in nature or it can be synthesized. But it is because of this crystal that a lightsaber can deflect back concentrated energy burst, like most magical spells."

"Wicked." Ron breathed looking at the glowing blade in Harry's hand with absolute awe. "So…you're training us to be these…Sith or Jedi people right?"

Deactivating his lightsaber, Harry retracted it back into the sheath on his arm. "Actually, I'm training you to be neither yet both. Just as my mother trained Daphne, Susan and myself to be neither and both. And because of that, we've discarded the old names. We call ourselves the Guardians now."

"Guardians?" Tracey questioned. "Of what?"

"Of the balance between dark and light. Of life and death."

It wasn't Harry who'd answered, but Luna. "She's right." Harry nodded. "We're both light and dark. And yet neither."

"So…we're all going to get one of those cool lightsword's right?" Ron pressed, an eager expression coming over his face.

Two more hisses echoed in the room as both Susan and Daphne drew out their own lightsabers. The single red blade and double sided blue blade stood in stark contrast to one another as the two girls stood side by side. "These are not toys Ronald." Daphne said, holding up her saber staff. "The lightsaber can cut through flesh and bone without hesitation."

"Once we feel that you are ready, you will all receive a lightsaber." Harry answered, motioning for both Susan and Daphne to lower their weapons. "Unfortunately, at the moment we only have two more lightsabers ready to give out to you."

His five friends all looked at one another before looking back at him. "So how are you going to decide who gets one and who has to wait?" Hannah asked, eyeing Susan's lightsaber hilt.

"The traditional way of passing knowledge down for Force user's has been through a system of Master's and Apprentices." Harry said. "For the rest of the year you five will basically be in competition with one another to decide who will become Daphne and Susan's apprentice. And there will be no favoritism granted. Whoever is chosen will become apprentices and begin their trails to receiving their lightsabers. Those that do not will become what are called 'Acolytes'. And will have to wait until more kyber crystals are discovered."

"Wait." Hermione said looking fairly confused. "You've been training longer than Susan and Daphne right? Shouldn't you be taking an apprentice before them? And there are six of us, not five."

Ron however, was looking back and forth between Harry and Ginny. Slowly, a look of comprehension came over his face. "Oh, bugger all. Ginny is already your apprentice. Isn't she? That's why she spent all summer at your house with you?"

"Yes I am Ron." Ginny said, taking a step towards her brother. "And before you start whining about how life isn't fair, the Master-Apprentice Bond that formed between Harry and myself was done by complete accident."

Coming up beside her, Harry laid a hand on Ginny's shoulder and gently but firmly moved her off to the side. "And that is why I can't take another Apprentice at the moment. While taking on more than one apprentice at a time isn't unheard of, our age and lack of experience does present a problem. Because of that, we can only take on one apprentice at a time. And my mother will be training the rest of you, actually all of us, next summer."

"Wait…your mother is willing to teach us next year?!" Hermione asked excitedly.

"Train, not teach Hermione." Daphne said with a more than slightly vicious smile. "And trust me, you'll come to know the difference before this school year is over, because we're going to be training seven nights a week from here on out."

"What?" Tracey screeched, while the other's save for Daphne, Susan, and Ginny turned slightly pale. "What do you mean, 'seven days a week'? When are we supposed to have time for that and for classes? Do you expect us not to sleep or something?"

"Pretty much." Harry nodded. "The first thing we're going to teach you this week is how to enter a meditative trance just before you sleep. With it, I can sleep for less than four hours and feel completely fine. My mother is at the point where she only needs less than an hour. But before you leave tonight, there is one thing that we have to teach you. The Code of the Guardians."

Taking a step back so he was side by side with Susan and Daphne, the three of them faced off with the others. "Listen well, and every day think about these words." Harry said, taking the time to look each of his friends in the eye before moving onto the next. "For they are the very core of what a Guardian is."

" _There is no Dark Side nor a Light Side. There is only the Force. I will do what I must to keep the balance. The balance is what sustains me. There is no good without evil, but evil must not be allowed to flourish. There is passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order. I am the wielder of the flame, the protector of balance. I am the holder of the torch lighting the way. I am the keeper of the flame, the soldier of balance. I am a guardian of balance. We…are the Guardians."_

* * *

Walking with Ron, Hermione, Daphne, and Tracey the five of them made their way out of the castle and onto the grounds before heading down towards Hagrid's hut. Of course the fact that three Gryffindor's and two Slytherin's were walking together of their own accord drew more than a few glances and murmurs. But it was nothing the five hadn't already heard before so they were able to ignore it for the most part.

"So…you three know Hagrid the best," Daphne said as they marched down the path. "Any idea what kind of creatures he's going to be showing us this year? And what is with this bloody book he assigned us? Morgana damned thing just about bit my fingers off the first time I tried to open it."

"No idea." Ron shrugged. "But given that it is Hagrid reaching the class…let's just hope that he hasn't brought Norbert back."

"Who's Norbert?" Tracey asked.

"A dragon that he hatched back in our first year." Harry answered making Tracey stop dead in her tracks and go white as a sheet. "Don't worry, with help from Ron's brother we managed to get it to a dragon reserve. And I doubt they're in the business of loaning out dragons to schools."

With that little bit of reassurance, the group continued their trek down towards Hagrid's hut. Once they arrived, they found Hagrid standing out by his garden, pacing back and forth and mumbling to himself. "Hey Hagrid." Harry said announcing their presence.

The half-giant jumped nearly a full yard into the air. "Blimey Harry!" Hagrid bellowed, clutching at his chest with one hand. "Don' be sneakin up on people like that!"

"Sorry about that, Professor." Harry said emphasizing the 'Professor' bit. Which seemed to please Hagrid. "So what are we going to be studying today?"

Hagrid's grin widened as the rest of the students in the class slowly started to gather around Hagrid. "Oh, it's a surprise Harry. Can't wait to show ye'll."

Once everyone had arrived, Hagrid coughed nervously and started to stroke his thick beard. "Alrighty…well ye'll know me. I'm Hag – Professor Hagrid. This is Care o' Magical Creatures. Now ye'll need to pay close attention to what I say right? Not all magical creatures are cuddly. And speakin of…let's get to today's lesson. Open ye books to page one-hundred and twenty-five."

As Hagrid turned around, Harry reached into his book bag and pulled out his copy of 'Monster Book of Monsters', which was sitting completely docile in the bottom of his book bag. It'd been quite a challenge to figure out how to get the book to calm down. And truth be told…he found it completely by accident when he'd grabbed hold of the spine while trying to get the book into his luggage.

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that…Professor?" Draco asked snidely.

Hagrid stopped walking and turned back around. Most of the class, save for Harry and Daphne, had their struggling books tied shut with either belts of pieces of cloth. "Well look at Harry and Daphne here class. They got it right. Ya just need to rub da spine."

With that, Hagrid turned his back one the class once more and disappeared into the forest. Opening up his book to the page Hagrid had said, Harry read the page. Then blinked. Then read the page again. It wasn't the most dangerous creature in the book. Not by a long shot. But could Hagrid really be thinking of starting off his class by – "Alrighty class! Here he is! Isn't he beautiful!"

Looking up from his book, Harry just barely surprised the urge to wince as he saw the creature Hagrid was leading into the large area by the robe around it's neck. ' _Of course he would start out his first class ever with a freaking hippogriff. Although…Hagrid is right. It's magnificent!'_

"This here be Buckbeak." Hagrid said, leading the slightly struggling hippogriff towards the clearly unnerved class. "He's a hippogriff for those who haven't figured it out yet. Now, who can tell me the best way to approach a hippogriff?"

Hagrid's cheerful face fell slightly when no one raised their hands to answer his question. "With respect Professor." Harry said after seeing that no one was about to answer. "They're very prideful and will only allow those who respect them to come close."

"Righty-o Harry!" Hagrid boomed. "Ten points ta Gryffindor! Now, just as Harry said, you want to approach hippogriffs with respect. So whenever ya approach one you keep eye contact with em and bow at the waist. Once they bow back you can approach em. But if they don't, they don't get close. Now who wants to try and approach ol' Buckbeak here?"

Harry heard the shuffling of feet behind him, and by the time he turned around he saw that he was standing by himself in front of the class. ' _Bloody traitors.'_ He cursed throwing glares at his friends before taking a step towards Hagrid and Buckbeak.

"Right, that's a good distance there Harry." Hagrid said letting go of the rope that he'd been using to hold onto Buckbeak. "Now bow low keep your eyes on his."

Keeping his eyes trained on Buckbeak, Harry bent at the waist and held it. Buckbeak just stared at him. After nearly a full minute of silence between the two, Buckbeak finally relented and bowed his head as well. "There ya go Harry!" Hagrid boomed before coming over to him and pushing him towards Buckbeak. "Think he'd let ya fly him now."

Deciding to have some fun for a change, Harry took a few steps towards the hippogriff, stopping only when there was less than a foot between the two of them. "Would you like to go flying Buckbeak?"

Buckbeak stared at him for a moment before kneeling down on the ground, much to the astonishment of the rest of the class. Swinging his leg over his back, Harry barely even had time to grab hold of something before Buckbeak was back on his feet, and with a few beats of his powerful wings, sending the two of them airborne.

Harry was no stranger to flying. Between his mother and Sirius he'd flown in just about every other contraption, both magical and non-magical, known to man. But there was just something about riding a sentiment creature through the air…he couldn't describe it. And judging by the feelings of amusement he felt coming off of Buckbeak, he wasn't the only one that was enjoying the flight.

All too soon Harry heard a loud whistle coming from the ground, causing Buckbeak to bank sharply and start to head back towards the area they'd left from. With barely even any jostling, Buckbeak landed right next to Hagrid. Who, while they were up in the air, had brought out four more hippogriffs for the rest of the class to work with. "Well Harry," Hagrid beamed helping him off of Buckbeak. "How'd it go?"

"Bloody well fantastic, Professor." Harry smiled before turning back to Buckbeak and bowing once more. "And thank you for the ride Buckbeak."

Hagrid beamed at him again before turning to the rest of the class. "Right, well you all know what to do. We have some more hippogriff's here. Group up and work on approaching them only! No foolin around now."

Giving Buckbeak one last affectionate pat, Harry made to return to his friends. He'd almost reached them when he heard something that made him stop dead. "Doesn't look too hard. You're just a big dumb creature aren't you? Bet your feeble creature brain can't even comprehend what we're all saying can it?"

Draco was striding confidently towards Buckbeak while insulting the hippogriff with just about every step he took. ' _Fucking idiot.'_ Harry cursed as he saw Buckbeak tense up. ' _Hagrid is too far away to stop him…oh hell. The fucking ferret is going to owe me for this!'_

"-now just be a good dumb creature and let me touch you so we can get out of here an-"

The moment Draco had stepped close enough to Buckbeak, the hippogriff reared up on its hind legs and raised its front talons high the air. Time almost seemed to slow to crawl as Harry watched as Buckbeak's talons came down. In truth, he really didn't care if Draco got hurt. In fact, it would probably knock the blond pounce down a peg or two. But knowing Draco, if he got hurt he wouldn't be the one to suffer. Buckbeak would.

Grabbing hold of Draco, Harry used the Force to pull Draco back just far enough so that Buckbeak's talons missed him, if only barely. "What in blazes are you thinkin Malfoy?!" Hagrid bellowed jumping in-between Buckbeak and Draco and doing his best to calm the clearly agitated hippogriff down. "Didn't ya hear what I was sayin?"

"T-that thing almost attacked me!" Draco yelled from his spot on the ground. "He should be destroyed! When my father hears of this-"

"He'll hear that you directly disobeyed a Professor Draco." Harry shot back, cutting off the ferret's tirade as he saw Hagrid cringe slightly at the threat. "Everyone here quite clearly heard Professor Hagrid tell us that you must show proper respect to hippogriff's and wait for permission before approaching them. And yet…not only insulted Buckbeak, but then you tried to approach him without permission. And if you're going to tell your father something…it might want to be to send you a new pair of pants. The house elves of Hogwarts are good…but I think even they will have difficulty removing the smell of piss and shite from your pants."

Draco's face turned bright red, and many of the students began to snicker as they all realized that the so titled 'Prince of Slytherin' had indeed soiled his pants rather spectacularly. "You – you filthy blood traitor!" Draco yelled, getting to his feet and trying to do his best to hide his shame. "I see to it that you pay for that! You and your filthy half-breed-"

"Twenty-five points from Slytherin!"

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and turned to stare in awe at their Professor. Hagrid's usual friendly demeanor was gone. And in its place was a Hagrid that was almost scary. "And two days' detention cleaning out the castle's stables Mr. Malfoy. And a two-foot essay on why one must be careful when approaching a hippogriff."

Draco's jaw was moving up and down, but no sound was coming out. "Y – you can't do that!" Draco shouted.

That was apparently the wrong thing to say as Hagrid's face hardened even further. "Make that a week's detention. One more word and it'd be three. Now head on back to your common room Mr. Malfoy and change yer pants."

Draco looked like he wanted to argue further, but apparently sense won out and the ferret turned on his heel and marched back to the castle with his ever present bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle right behind him acting as cover for his shame. "Now then." Hagrid said getting everyone's attention once more. "Now ye'll see why treatin the hippogriffs with respect is important. So let's try this again."

* * *

Walking with his fellow DADA classmates, Harry followed Rem – Professor Lupin as he led them through the halls of Hogwarts and into one of the many abandoned classrooms on the seventh floor. There were no desks in the classroom, nor were there any black boards or books. The only piece of furniture within the empty classroom was a large armoire standing upright against the back wall.

Once everyone was inside the classroom, Re – Professor Lupin, walked over so he was standing in front of the armoire before he turned around and faced the class. "For our first class of the year, I thought that we could do something a little more…hands on shall we say." Lupin said, placing his hands behind his back. "I've asked the Headmaster to hold onto this armoire for a very specific reason. Can anyone guess what that reason is?"

While everyone else in the class were looking between one another, Harry reached out his senses and felt the armoire. He could feel a presence inside the armoire. But it was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. It was…shifting. Constantly shifting. He couldn't get a read on it. And after a quick look at Daphne, he could see that she was just as confused as he.

Raising his hand, Harry waited until the Professor called him on before answering. "There is something in there Professor. More than likely some kind of dark creature that you're going to show us how to handle."

Lupin smiled at him. "Ten points to Gryffindor for your insight Mr. Potter. And five points from Gryffindor for your cheek. But you are correct. In this armoire is a fairly rare dark creature known as a boggart. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

Of course Hermione's hand was first in the air, with a far more subdued Daphne next. "Daphne." Remus pointing to her.

"A bogart is a dark creature that hides in dark places." Daphne answered, lowering her hand. "When it is found, it takes the form of whatever the nearest one to it fears the most."

"Correct!" Remus smiled. "Ten points for Slytherin. What Ms. Greengrass said is exactly right. Boggarts like to hid in dark places and for the most part will try and avoid conflict. However if they are discovered they defend themselves by taking on what physical appearance of what you fear most. Even if you don't know that it is what you fear. And no amount of occumlency will protect you from the boggart either. Now, who can tell me why assuming one's greatest fear might warrant the boggart's classification as a Class II Dark Creature? Um, Harry Potter."

"Because seeing your fear come to life before you will cause you to freeze." Harry answered quickly. "Also, if you fear something extremely dangerous, like a banshee or a dragon, a boggart could take that form and while they're not as powerful as a true dragon or banshee they're still just as dangerous."

"Very good Harry," Remus nodded. "Take another ten points for Gryffindor. Now, can anyone tell me how one deals with a boggart? Um, Ms. Granger."

"A spell called _riddikulus_." Hermione answered promptly. "Or you could face the boggart with more than one person, because then the boggart won't know who to focus on and would become confused."

"Very good Hermione, another ten points to Gryffindor." Remus nodded. "Now, the wand motion for the spell is a simple counter-clockwise twist of the wand in a tight circle and the incantation is ' _riddikulus'._ But saying eh incantation and doing the wand movement is not enough. In order to properly do the counter spell, you must picture something that makes you laugh. I know this sounds difficult to do when faced with your worst fear, but this is the only known way to fight against a boggart. Now, everyone wand's out. We're going to practice the movement and incantation."

Taking out his wand, Harry held it out if front of him. "Good." Remus said holding out his own wand. "Now, say the incantation and do the movements with me. Ready? _Riddikulus."_

" _Riddikulus."_ Harry repeated with the rest of the class.

For the next ten minutes Remus had them practice the incantation and wand movements. Every now and then he would stop to correct a student's pronunciation or wand movements. Once he seemed satisfied with the class's progress, he held up his wand and created a large black curtain suspended from the ceiling that cut the large classroom in half. "Now, due to the delicate nature of this you all we be facing off against the boggart one at a time under my supervision. The rest of you will wait behind the curtain until I call your name. While you're waiting I want you all to start thinking of what you're fears might be, and how you would make them seem comedic instead of fearful. Now off you go, and when I call your name come through the curtain."

Moving with the rest of the class, Harry made his way to the other side of the heavy black curtain. Once everyone was across Remus called out the first name. "Ms. Lavender Brown. You're up first."

Harry's fellow house mate turned white as a sheet at being called up first. But proving that she belonged in the house of the brave, Lavender took a deep breath and stepped back through the curtain. "So…what do you think is going to happen?" Ron asked awkwardly.

"We're going to face our fears Ronald." Daphne stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, I knew that." Ron huffed, looking back towards the curtain. "Huh…I can't hear anything that's happening? Maybe her fear is being quiet."

Despite himself, Harry did cough slightly in an attempt to keep from laughing. Lavender was known as perhaps the biggest gossip in all of Gryffindor…perhaps the whole school. "Re – Professor Lupin more than likely put a silencing charm on the curtain." Harry theorized. "If he wanted total privacy for us, then he would have to make sure that everyone else in the class couldn't see or hear what was going on."

A few seconds later, Lavender came back out from behind the curtain looking decidedly paler than she did when she entered. "Ms. Millicent Bulstrode."

Straightening herself, the large girl almost bumped into a clearly dazed Lavender as she made her way through the curtain. "Lavender." Parvati Patel, Lavender's best friend, asked her as she came up and enveloped her in a hug. "Are you okay?"

Harry tuned out whatever the two said as Bulstrode, who was literally shaking, came back out from behind the curtain. None of her fellow Slytherin's came up to see if she was okay or not. "Ms. Hermione Granger."

Beside him, Hermione stiffened up like a board, but after a quick nod of reassurance from Harry, she marched through the curtain. "Wonder what her fear is going to be. A questions she doesn't know the answer too?" Draco said humorously, making several Slytherin's around him chuckle. "Or maybe she'll her the truth she's always feared. That mudbloods like her have no place in proper society."

Glaring over his shoulder, most of the Slytherin's wisely shored up their laughter. "Just try not to piss your pants again Draco." Harry said scathingly. "I can't deal with that smell again this week."

Draco glared at him, then snapped his attention to his left when one of his fellow Slytherin started chuckling as well.

Turning his back on the blond ferret, Harry stared intently at the curtain waiting for Hermione to come back. When she did, she looked decidedly pale and her hands were shaking more than slightly. Just as he took a step towards her, he heard Remus call out the next name. "Ms. Daphne Greengrass please."

Sparing his fellow apprentice a quick glance, Daphne nodded towards Hermione before raising her chin and walking through the curtain. "Hermione." Harry said softly coming up beside his friend. "Are you alright?"

Swallowing hard, Hermione nodded shakily. "I – it was…it was Professor McGonagall." Hermione said low enough so that only the two of them could hear. "Then it was Professor Lupin…then Flitwick, then Dumbledore and then…and then you. They…you…you all said that I'd failed…at everything. That I was a failure. That I didn't belong here Harry. With the magical population…or with you and your mother."

Looping one arm around his friend, ignoring the snickers and murmurs that his action start, Harry pulled Hermione in close to him. "You do belong Hermione." He said to a decidedly reddening Hermione. "Don't ever doubt that. Even for a second."

When Daphne came back out, she looked even worse than Hermione did. She didn't even register the next student passing her by as she walked right up to Harry. "Daphne." He said slowly. "Are you-"

"It was me Harry." Daphne said abruptly. "I was…I'd lost myself to my powers. Just like our Master warned. I won't let it happen Harry. I won't."

Harry didn't say anything, Daphne was strong. Not to mention proud. Any comforting words or actions from him would undoubtedly be rejected. "I know you won't Daphne."

Slowly, the rest of the class went through the curtain one at a time to face off against their fears. Some would come out seemingly completely calm. But one or two actually came out in tears. Finally, Harry heard the words he'd been somewhat dreading. "Mr. Harry Potter. You're next."

Approaching the curtain, Harry started repeating the Code like a mantra. ' _Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order.'_

On the other side, he found Remus standing next to the armoire with his wand in hand. "Remember the spell Harry?"

Nodding, Harry drew his wand and faced off with the armoire. "I'm ready Professor."

Nodding, Remus stepped off to the side and waved his wand at the armoire. He'd prepared himself for a dementor, or Voldemort, or for even a basilisk to come out. But when his mother stepped out of the armorie…he nearly dropped his wand. "What are you doing boy?" His mother scathed at him. "Look at you, shaking where you stand. You're completely and utterly pathetic."

' _It isn't real! Just used the spell already!'_ He shouted in his mind, but his hand and lips refused to work.

"I don't even know why I took you in!" His mother shouted, taking another step towards him. "A weakling like you has no place with me. You're a failure of a son! I should've left you to die with your wretched excuse for parents-"

" _Riddikulus!"_

Harry had even realized that Remus had stepped in-between Harry and the boggart until there was a balloon suddenly flying around the two of them before making a break for the safety of the armoire.

Once the doors to the armoire closed, Remus turned around to him. "Harry…are you-"

"It was my mother." Harry said, still dazed at what had just happened. "I…how? I love my mother. I don't fear her. Why…why did it take her shape?"

Walking up to him, Remus took his time in answering. "Boggart's take on the physical manifestations of our deepest fears. Because of that, they rarely if ever speak. Unless what they are saying is part of your fears. And if so, then the words they say are almost more important than the image they take." Pausing, Remus place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You don't fear your mother Harry. What you fear is failing her or being seen as unworthy in her eyes. And I can tell you for absolute certainty Harry…both of those fears are baseless. Your mother loves you. She has that same look in her eye that Lily and James had whenever they held you."

"Thank you Remus." Harry said, feeling completely ashamed for his fear. "I suppose that I failed today."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Remus countered back. "About half of your classmates were unable to properly counter the boggart. Daphne didn't use the counter-curse. She simply banished the boggart back into the armoire. In fact, I actually had to repair the ruddy thing before the next student came in. So don't feel bad Harry. I wasn't expecting everyone to get it today. Confronting one's fear is never easy."

Nodding, Harry faced off with the armoire once more. "I want to go again."

Sadly, Remus shook his head. "Sorry Harry, not today. Plainly for the interest of time. Stop by my office later and we'll give it a go again alright?"

Putting his wand back into its sheath, Harry nodded curtly to Remus before turning and leaving. ' _I will conquer my fear. I swear it.'_

* * *

Standing in his office, Dumbledore was staring out at the grounds of Hogwarts. In the past he could in this very spot and stare at the grounds of his school for hours on end and find peace. But today he found no peace. For years he'd thought that he would be able to get Harry Potter, the 'Boy-Who-Lived' under his wing and away from the 'Pillar'…Ziri Nox. The boy had a destiny ahead of him. A destiny that no one but Dumbledore truly understood. But now…now he was faced with the grim reality that Harry would never part from his adoptive mother.

When Remus first reported just what the boggart turned into when faced off with Harry, he'd felt a surge of elation. If the boy's greatest fear was of Nox…then he could've used that to drive a wedge in-between the two. But after Remus finished explaining the true nature of what the boggart became…that elation evaporated faster than it came.

A boggart didn't speak. They were only able to take on the physical appearance of fear. If they did speak…then the true fear of the person laid not in what was seen…but in what the boggart had said. Harry's fear wasn't of his Nox. His greatest fear was of failing Nox…of being deemed unworthy in her eyes.

"I failed you James…Lily." He whispered. "I couldn't guide your son to the light. Now I fear that he will fall into the same trap of darkness that has claimed so many before him."

* * *

Sitting down in his last class of the week, Harry pulled out his book as well as his quill and a blank piece of parchment. So far this first week had been completely crazy. From fighting off a dementor on the train ride, to saving Draco from a hippogriff to quite literally coming face to face with his worst fear…yeah. It had certainly been an interesting first week of classes.

Luckily the rest of his classes weren't as chaotic as Care of Magical Creatures and DADA had been. Transfiguration was still just as interesting as before and the same went for Charms. Herbology was alright…but still not one of his favorite classes. Potions had been…well potions with Snape. The man's attitude towards Harry and his friends seemed to get worse each and every year. Although it was fairly comical, seeing as how the whole school knew about his friendship with Daphne and Tracey, to see him trying to be snide to his own house. The man looked perpetually constipated whenever he was forced to speak with Daphne or Tracey.

History of magic had been, once again, completely and utterly useless. Honestly, he still didn't know why Dumbledore allowed Binns to continue to teach the class.

A serious upside to the week however had been his first Ancient Runes class. The class had been…completely and utterly fascinating. If there had been one class that he'd been looking forward to ever since he read over the Hogwarts curriculum, it was runes. There were so many possible applications for them.

And now he was in another class that he'd definitely been looking forward too. Arithmancy.

"I've heard that Professor Vector is incredibly strict. And that's why so many people don't take it." Hermione said taking a seat next to him while Susan and Hannah grabbed the seats on the desk next to them and Daphne took up the entire desk on their other side. There were only perhaps ten actual students in the class. And outside of Harry, Hermione, Susan, Hannah and Daphne the rest of the students were all Ravenclaw's.

"I think most people don't take it because it's such a challenge." Harry said opening his book to the first page. "Look at the math. I doubt most pureblood children are practicing algebra and trigonometry…well ever."

Pursing her lips, Hermione looked down at his open book and then nodded.

Before either could say more, the door to the teacher's office opened and a witch dressed completely in red stepped out. "Good afternoon class." She said walking towards her desk. "I, in case you haven't figured it out, am your Arthmancy Professor Septima Vector. This class is perhaps the most challenging that Hogwarts has to offer. So if I think for even one second you are slacking or not paying attention, I will not only fail you, but I will throw you out of my class faster than you can say 'Arthmancy'."

Pulling out her wand, she flicked it towards the black board. The word 'Arthmancy' appeared one the board followed by several bullet points. Instantly Harry and everyone else started copying down what was on the black board. "Arthmancy is the art of magic that deals with the creation as well as destruction of magical spells. This class is essential for anyone wishing to go in Curse-breaking, magical research, or if you wish to work with the Unspeakables. But the core of this class revolves around mathematics. So, just so I can judge where you are all at, we'll be having an impromptu quiz."

Another flick of her wand, and several pieces of paper flew out from her desk towards each student in the class. "This quiz has two dozen math problems." Vector explained as each student place their respective quiz face down on their desk. "They start easy, but will eventually get harder as you go. You will have thirty minutes to complete as many as you can. Oh, and just so you all don't feel bad…not one student in all of my years of teaching have managed to finish this quiz within the time allotted. Even those who were considered prodigies. You have thirty minutes. Begin."

Flipping over the quiz, Harry smirked as he saw that the first question was a simple addition and subtraction problem. The next was complex multiplication problem and the third required long division. After the first five, the questions quickly increased in difficulty. Algebra, trigonometry, and even a couple with calculus.

Putting the finishing touches on the last question on the quiz, Harry turned his paper over and began cracking his neck. "Potter! You still have ten minutes left. Have you given up already?"

Stopping mid-movement, Harry looked off to his left and right and saw that he was the only one who was done. Susan and Hannah looked completely lost. Daphne was glaring down at her paper and Hermione was flushed red and was gripping her quill hard enough to whiten her knuckles. "Um, no Professor Vector." Harry said picking up his paper. "I finished the quiz already."

Giving him a clearly disbelieving look, the Professor marched over to his desk and grabbed his quiz before returning to her desk. Setting his quiz down on her desk, she pulled out her own quill and started going over his answers. The further her eyes went down his paper, the higher her eyebrows rose until they were nearly touching her hairline. And not once did her quill touch the paper. "Mr. Potter." Professor Vector said slowly setting her quill down. "You…you answered every question correctly."

"Yes ma'am." Harry nodded. "My mother has had be studying mathematics since I could read. I got through the equivalent of muggle university level calculus before I started my first year of Hogwarts."

Professor's Vector's eyes widened briefly before narrowing almost dangerously. "Good. Then I won't need to coddle you this year. And the rest of you best get on Mr. Potter's good side, as I usually grade based on the best student in class."

Harry felt nine pairs of eyes turn and glare at him. ' _Wonderful.'_ He murmured risking a quick glance at all of his friends. ' _Now I'm going to have every other student in this class asking me to help them with it. Just bloody well wonderful.'_

* * *

Nox's heels made a steady clicking as she walked through the expansive halls of Gringotts with Tonks, her personal banker Griphook and a full goblin honor guard. Coming to a large gold plated door, Griphook stopped and rested his palm against its surface. The honor guard that were around them snapped to attention and moved off to the edges of the hallway as the door's slid open, revealing a large oval office furnished almost entirely in gold.

Once the doors were fully opened, Griphook took a step off to the side and bowed deeply to her. "Master Ragnok, leader of the Goblin Nation of Britain awaits you Madam Nox."

With barely a slight nod of acknowledgement, Nox swept past Griphook and into the large office with Tonks right on her heels.

The office was grand. Grander than anything she'd seen before, and that included the Sith Emperor's throne room or the Dark Council's chambers. Just about every piece of furniture from the large ornate desk, to the bookshelves, and even the padded chairs in the room were trimmed with gold and brightly colored jewels.

And sitting behind the large desk was perhaps the oldest goblin that Nox had ever seen reading over a large text. "Nox. Black."

"Ragnok." Nox didn't both with honorifics, nor did she bow or kneel. And too her credit, neither did Tonks.

"Good." Ragnok said looking up from his desk. "I've heard tales about you. I'm glad to see that your strength and will haven't been overstated."

Striding across the office, she took the seat directly across from the leader of the goblins as Tonks remained standing just behind her and to her right. "If anything Ragnok, the tales about me have more than likely understated what I can, and am willing, to do."

Ragnok grinned toothily. "Yes…and I see you have taken the Black Heiress under your wing. Good. While the current Lord Black has been most interesting to deal with…I long for the day when the Black's return to their true roots. But that is a discussion for another time. I understand that you are here to commission something from the goblin nation yes?"

Nodding, Nox held up her hand. Without even needing to be told, Tonks pulled out the think rolled parchment from within her robes and handed it to her. "A little bit of unwritten history." She said, placing the scroll onto his desk. "Most believe that it was the Founders, and only the Founders, who built Hogwarts. When in fact they had a considerable amount of help from the goblin nation in not only the construction of the castle, but also in the creation of the ward scheme that protects the school. I'm seeking those same skills Ragnok."

Picking up the parchment she'd placed on the desk, Ragnok unrolled it across the book in front of him. "Hmm, impressive." He murmured while rubbing his chin. "This would be quite the undertaking."

"I have sufficient funds to cover any expenses." Nox said offhandedly. "And you would not be required to do everything. I have my own workers that will be helping with the construction. And should this go as planned, I have other projects in mind for the goblin nation as well."

"And the Black Family is contributing to the cost as well. And you know my wealth well. The only issue here is if the goblins are willing to get their fat arses out from behind their piles of gold and get their hands dirty." Tonks said firmly, causing Nox to smirk. ' _Good girl. I'm going to have to find a way to 'reward' her later.'_

Ragnok looked up from the parchment and fixed Tonks with a look that would make just about anyone cower in fear. But again, to her credit Tonks didn't back down and met the old goblins gaze head on. "Yes…you are definitely training her well Nox." Ragnok smirked, looking back down to the parchment across his desk. "It will be quite enjoyable to have such a strong leader of House Black again."

"Yes, she is quite the…eager…student." Nox could feel the blush forming across Tonks's body. "But perhaps we could get back to the reason I am here today."

"Yes." Ragnok nodded waving a hand towards the parchment. "This is doable…and we goblins would be willing to work with you for half your projected cost."

Nox was instantly on edge, although she didn't let it show. No one, especially the goblins, made an offer like this out of the goodness of their hearts. "And what do the goblins get out of this deal?"

Smiling widely, Ragnok leaned back in his seat and folded his hands under his chin. "You're a clever one Nox. On par with Slytherin himself. But as cunning as you are, the goblin nation is equally so. We know what you're doing Nox."

"Oh?" Nox asked, arching one eyebrow and motioning for Tonks to calm down with a subtle wave of her hand when she felt the girl tense. "And what am I up too Ragnok?"

Ragnok, as impossible as it seemed, just grinned wider. "In the magical world you've created quite a few alliances here in Britain with some prominent noble families. You've also begun an outreach program to help muggleborns and those just entering the magical world to acclimate to their new lives. You've become quite powerful and influential not just here in Britain, but on a global scale. If your actions were just isolated to the magical world I would say that you are gunning for the position of Minister of Magic or something in the ICW. But one only needs to look at your non-magical business to see your true aims."

Pausing, Ragnok pushed the parchment aside and pointed to the book on his desk. "Last year your company revealed a fighter jet that is capable of interstellar travel. A feat which should've been impossible given the non-magical's current level of technology. Which means that you used magic to basically cheat. But that also insured that no one but you could successfully make the craft. And on top of that, you are currently seeking approval for several pharmaceuticals, which if one where to look at closely they would find that your new medicine is actually diluted magical potions."

Nox was actually impressed. The goblins had actually managed to piece together a lot of what'd she'd been doing for the past few years. "And let's say that everything you say is true. What is my end game then?"

"You're creating a need for magical's amongst the muggles." Ragnok said leaning forward. "And the only reason you would be doing that is to try and mitigate damage from a potential war between magical's and non-magical's. A war that will inevitably happen once your coup of the magical world is successful and you dissolve the Veil of Secrecy Act."

Nox kept her face completely neutral. The goblins had hit the nail on the head. Perhaps not entirely but they were close. But seeing as how they hadn't gone running to the nearest government agency…it meant that they didn't disapprove of her plan. Which meant they wanted to join her. But the question was…in what capacity?

"And you've still yet to say why this explains the goblins willingness to work on my projects for half your normal fee."

Ragnok scoffed. "You've already figured it out Nox, so don't play coy with me. The Goblin Nation wants to join you. Full partners."

Leaning back in her seat, Nox folded her hands under her chin. "Why? If you think that I'm about to let you have full control of the world's economy…then you're fucking insane."

Ragnok growled at her. "Any other witch and I would have your head on spike outside our walls."

"And any other goblin, and I would pull your tongue out through your throat simply for making the threat." Nox countered, drawing on the dark side of the Force and causing the candles within the room to flicker.

The two stared off with one another, neither willing to give an inch to the other. "I see." Ragnok said slowly. "Indeed…the rumors about you were greatly understated. As for what we want…we have no desire to control the world's economy. We want to join with your alliance Nox. Nothing more, nothing less."

Beside her, she heard Tonks gasp slightly, but Nox kept her composure. "Why?"

Leaning back in his seat, Ragnok folded his hands over his stomach. "You began this meeting with a history lesson Nox. Allow me now to return the favor. We goblin's are warriors. It is what we were bred for. It is what we live, breathe, and die for. Several millennia ago, we goblins stayed in out caves ignoring the outside world and fought only each other. Then that became dull, we reached out and sought a challenge against those on the surface.

"Witches and wizards proved to be adequate rivals. In time we even began to consider them as our equals. In fact, the first wizard we ever truly respected was Godric Gryffindor. He fought with naught but his wand, a shite steel sword, and his wits. And with just those, he managed to cut down nearly a hundred goblin warriors and forced the goblin king of that age to his knees. Right before he took of his head."

"And that is why you goblin's forged Gryffindor a new sword." Nox stated, to which Ragnok nodded.

"Of course. He was worthy adversary. In fact, it was only because of his actions that we agreed to help in the construction of Hogwarts in the first place. And why we agreed to a temporary truce with the Wizards. At least until Gryffindor died." Ragnok paused for a moment before continuing on. "After the death of the last Founder, we goblins decided to test the magical world again. What we found was…disappointing. Not one wizard or witch could hold a candle to Gryffindor or the other Founders. The only wizard and witch who did were Merlin and Morgana. Ah…what worthy adversary those two were.

"But alas, those two were more interested in fighting each other most of the time. So, seeking new challenges we would push the wizards and witches to the brink of annihilation and then retreat back and staged it so that the humans believed they beat us. We continued this trend hoping each time we would face a worthy foe. But more often than not, we were left wanting. Eventually, we realized that we would not be able to continue this trend forever. So we sought out a new challenge, a new battleground if you will."

"Economics." Nox said plainly, reassessing her first impression of the goblins. They weren't similar to the Mandalorians…they were the Mandalorians of this world.

"Yes." Ragnok agreed nodding slowly. "And for a time we enjoyed the challenge. But now…while many are willing to count coins, or forge, or build…many are feeling the call of our heritage."

"And what does that have to do with wanting an alliance with me?" Nox countered.

"Despite your attempts at mitigation, the removal of the Veil of Secrecy will lead to war." Ragnok said as if it were a foregone conclusion. Which, Nox admitted, it was. War was inevitable. "Against both the magical and non-magical humans alike. And we want to be part of your army."

Keeping her face completely neutral, Nox's mind began running widely as she stared off to the side. After a few moments of silence, she met Ragnok's gaze once more. "Your warriors will follow my orders to the letter. Should one of them step even one toe out of line, I will kill them. And it won't be slow or merciful."

Ragnok's grin was positively feral. "I would expect, nor except, anything less."

Nodding, Nox stood up from her seat. "Then we have an accord Ragnok."

"Yes we do Nox." Ragnok said, also standing from his seat. A rare sign of respect.

"I will contact you with the exact location I expect to be used for the construction. I expect your builders to be ready the moment I call upon them." Turning her back on the leader of the goblin nation, she made it halfway towards the door before stopping once more. "And Ragnok. Should your goblins even entertain the idea of rebelling against me and mine I will make your death last for days while every goblin I can find watches on in chains.

"I think the goblin's are going to enjoy working with you…Madam Nox."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey there everyone! Sorry for the long wait between updates here…but it's summer and I was extremely busy lol. And this is the longest chapter I've written for this story so far. Bit of a longer A/N here so please bear with me.**

 **I've decided to break this story up from 2 parts to 3. I was planning on going all the way through the HP verse in one book…but looking at it now that would be about a 500-600k work story and I usually like to keep mine between 200-300k. So the HP verse will be broken up into 2 parts. Saying that…this story (part 1) has about 1 or maybe 2 more chapters in it. Let me know what you guys think about this change.**

 **Also I realize that I forgot about responding to the reviews! I'm extremely sorry about that so let's get to it.**

 **Thank you very much to GayLegionCommander, Moon So Bright, rex-mortuorum, JPElles, ArancarVampireMage13, Penny is wise, Lycan01, Perciles of Cholargos, Neodova, PascalDragon, Vukk, aslan333, gaara king of sand, hearfanglives, davycrokett100, myfroatemydog, BioHazard82, Ciarle, HowInMadHowie , Skugokage, FateBurn, Goddragonking, Darth Diablos, Zolydck, frankieu, tf330129 for your reviews! I really appreciate them.**

 **Vangran – thank you for pointing that out. I will go back and fix it.**

 **Axel – that is an interesting way to look at it. But I was more drawing inspiration off of the X-man for why the potential war between non-magical and magical people. As Yoda said, fears leads to anger, anger to hate, hate to suffering.**

 **LoveLifeForever-…thought about it but probably not going to happen lol**

 **Jc – Didn't think about that…interesting idea though**

 **Luna's Meow – Thank you for pointing out those two flaws. 1) Yeah you're right. I probably could've added in more conflict. 2) The reason why he gave in was in part because the goblins were growing restless and Nox is able to provide them with a fight that they hadn't experienced before.**

 **Vruon – Still working on what other magical races to add in to the werewolves and goblins. I have one for sure. But will have to work on the others.**

 **GouberMan – I respect your opinion. This will not be a harem however. I've toyed with the idea but have decided that Harry will be in a one on one relationship. There are already a lot of harem or multi-paring stories out there.**

 **Percy Jackson 7 – You'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Stars90 – Yeah that is one thing that annoyed me in the book, just how weak some of the creatures were.**

 **Siblings Grimm – You'll find out in this chapter**

 **FreeTraderBeowolf – thank you for pointing that out, I'll try and go back and fix it and try to keep from doing it in the future. I think it might be the auto correct on Word 10, but not sure.**

 **AnimeA55Kicker – If I'm remembering my lore correctly, Ragnok was the leader of the goblins in Britain. Not sure if that translate to all of the goblin nation, but you're right lol,**

 **Bloody-Asphode11 – Oh it will be a show alright**

 **Dswiller80 – You make a lot of good points. However the pairing has already been decided, if not announce, hope that you'll enjoy it.**

 **– You're points are well made and that is what I was going for.**

 **Dzerx – Sorry to say this will not be a multi-pairing story. Played with the idea, but decided against it.**

 **Alright, reviews done. I will try and answer with PM from now on, but some I may not get to and I apologize for that.**

 **Thoughts on the Patronus Charm – for this fic I've broken down the patronus into three parts. Also only one full patronus can be summoned at a time 1) mist shield 2) Corporeal form 3) detonation and release of shockwave**

 **One last thing, a lot of people have asked what is the time frame in relation to the SW verse…well this chapter will answer that with style. I hope.**

 **Hope that you all enjoy this chapter! Please leave a review and let me know what you all think!**

 **Chapter 17**

The residence of the small little town of Little Hangleton had all retreated into the warmth of their homes as the sun set and the cold October night temperature set in. Near the outskirts of the town the quiet night was broken as five audible cracks sounded and five people appeared from thin air.

Nox stared around at the ruined house that lay before them, ignoring the cool November air and the light coating of snow that was falling around her. "Cyrus, you're sure that this is the place?"

Cyrus Greengrass nodded as he stepped up beside her. "Yes, I checked and double checked the records. Tom Riddle's was a Hogwart's student that claimed his mother was one Merope Gaunt, of the once great Gaunt House. The family was believed to have been descendants of Slytherin himself. But the past two centuries were definitely not kind to the family. Their fortune dried up. Their name eventually meant nothing. And they were reduced to living in this little shack."

"You can mostly blame it on their pedigree." Sirius remarked dryly. "They were worse than even the Blacks. Pretty much exclusively married their first cousins or even at times their siblings. Some believed that their inbreeding caused their decline in magic potential, although most of the pure-bloods didn't believe that."

"But do you really think that Voldemort hid one of his Horcux's here?" Evelyn Greengrass asked taking a tentative step towards the house before stopping. "There are more secure locations than this."

Taking a step forward, Amelia pulled out her wand and moved it around in several complex patterns before stopping with a frown. "I would say that this is a safe bet." Amelia said licking her lips. "There's a proverbial mine field of runic traps covering the ground between us and the building."

"And what of the house itself?" Nox asked, rubbing at her chin. "Are there any runic traps on the walls or the foundation?"

Raising her wand, Amelia repeated the same series of complex wand movements. "Not that I can see." Amelia said frowning. "But that doesn't mean that there isn't anything inside."

Looking around at their surroundings, Nox took a few steps back before facing the shack. "Well then. If we can't get to the house…perhaps we can bring the soul container to us."

Sinking down onto her knees, Nox closed her eyes and took a slow breath in. Reaching out with the Force, she felt the house in front of them for any trace of the Force presence that she'd come to know so well. "It's here." She said keeping her eyes closed. "Beneath the floor boards on the first floor. But there are dozens…no…at least a hundred runic traps and curses littered throughout the house."

"Bloody well wonderful." Sirius muttered. "It'll take probably a dozen curse breakers a solid week to even get to the ruddy building. Let alone to work their way through it."

Casting a glance out of the corner of her eye, Nox merely smirked and shook her head. "For a self-proclaimed prankster Sirius, you surely do have a lack of imagination." Rising to her feet, Nox took a few steps towards the shack and raised her hand palm up. "Remember…I said what we were looking for is under the floorboards."

A deafening crack echoed throughout the still night, causing three witches and two wizards to draw their wands. "Bloody hell…" Sirius breathed.

Slowly, the small structure began to groan as the very foundation began to shake. With little more than a slight twinging of her lips, Nox broke through the rotting pieces of wood that were holding the house down and lifted the entire building a full meter into the air. Turning her hand palm out, the house moved backwards and once it was fully separated from its base, Nox let it go.

"As I said," Nox smirked at the awed expressions on her companions faces. "What we sought was _under_ the floorboards."

Raising her hand once more, the floor boards that were still attached to the base of the house exploded upwards as a small box shot up from beneath them before it stopped in midair and began floating towards them.

"Bloody hell." Sirius murmured as the box approached. "Did you…did you just lift a house off its foundation just to get what was underneath it?"

"You sound surprised Sirius." Nox commented as the box, no bigger than her two hands, landed silently into her outstretched hand. "I've told you before. With the Force, something is only impossible if you believe it to be so."

A few hours later, Nox was once again alone in her study in Grimmuald Place. The box that she'd just retrieved was sitting open on her desk, and the ring that was inside laid in two pieces upon the velvety interior of the box. ' _Strange.'_ Nox mused as she looked at the two pieces of the ring, the golden band and a large blood red stone that was once a Horcrux. ' _Riddle's soul was contained within the band of the ring only. The stone…rejected his soul.'_

Hovering her hand over the small stone, Nox felt the stone through the Force. ' _Strange. This…stone has a power I have never encountered before. It's…it's perplexing yet…why do I feel that I have felt something similar before? Just what exactly is this stone?'_

Closing her hand, she opened her eyes once again and stared down at the two pieces. ' _A mystery for another time.'_ She thought, using the Force to remove the ruined band, leaving only the stone within the box. Closing the box, she opened the small hidden compartment she'd installed under her desk before placing the box with the stone in it and sealing it back up.

' _That is four down.'_ She thought, reaching out and picking the gold band up from her desk and twirling it around between her fingers. ' _Harry. The diary. The locket. And now this ring. If you wanted seven pieces of your soul Riddle…then there should be two more of these things out there. I know that one is within Gringotts, but despite my recent alliance I still cannot reach it. That just leaves one unaccounted for. But the question still remains…what did he use and where did he hide it?'_

* * *

Blocking a downward strike, Harry twisted his training sword around in a tight circle forcing Astoria off balance before he stepped forward and put his shoulder into the small girl. Muttering loudly to herself, Astoria pushed herself up from the floor and charged at Harry once more. This time he simply sidestepped her lunge while sticking his foot out. Astoria, unable to stop herself, tripped over his outstretched foot and went face first into the floor.

Taking his eyes off of Astoria, who was still slowly pushing herself up off the ground, Harry watched as his friends spared against one another with the training swords that'd been provided by the room after he envisioned them. Daphne was facing off against Luna, while Susan stood across from Tracey. Both of the latter girls had proven to be quite adept with a blade much to their own amazement. Luna fought with what Harry could only be describe as 'organized chaos'. Her moves were nearly impossible to predict, unless one emerged themselves in the Force, yet each move flowed together with the grace of an elegant dance. Tracey on the other hand, while predictable, was technically sound.

Taking his eyes off of them, he looked over towards the second grouping which had Hermione facing off against Hannah and Ginny facing off against Ron. Hannah was on the constant defensive as Hermione's form was just like her wand work, incredibly accurate and precise. In fact, she was so precise that after their first sparing session he asked Hermione about it, and she blushingly admitted that the year before she started Hogwarts her parents had enrolled her in a fencing class so that she might make friends outside of her books.

As for Ginny and Ron, Ron was just barely able to hold his ground as Ginny leapt around him in a near blur while poking holes through whatever defense Ron could muster. Part of Harry actually felt bad for Ron at having drawn Ginny's name for a sparing partner today. The only reason Ginny was the best blade in the room was because Daphne, Susan, and himself had years of practice on her.

All in all…harry had been thoroughly please with the progress that his friends had made since the beginning of the school year.

The first two weeks had been, to say the least, hell. At least to everyone besides Daphne, Susan and himself. Not necessarily because they had been working hard physically or magically, but more because of the lack of sleep. Considering that curfew in Hogwarts started at ten at night and was done at six in the morning, which left them with only eight hour window to train and sleep. With their earliest class not being until nine in the morning, they had decided that it would be best to start at around half to midnight and stop just before two in the morning giving them all at least five hours of sleep. And luckily enough, it seemed as if all of the common room guardians lacked the ability to tell time as they would always open and close no matter the time of night.

So for those first two weeks Harry had had them focus almost solely on meditative techniques that they could do to help augment their sleep. Of course being able to enter a true meditative sleep took years to learn. But after two weeks on the schedule everyone was at least starting to adjust. At least mostly. It wasn't uncommon to see Ron or even Tracey passed out cold in History of Magic whenever they had it.

Once he felt that they had enough of a routine set with their sleeping, Harry shifted their training to be more on par with the training that he'd received from his mother. Each day they would begin by running for nearly a mile or more around the track that line the outskirts of the training room he'd created with the room of requirement. After that they would go through a brief meditation before moving on to Force based and magical training. And then onto sparring, both with and without weapons.

It was during the first training session that the group received one of their biggest surprises when Ron, who'd apparently made good use of his summer imprisonment, used the Force to lift up the feather from the desktop and throw it across the room. He still wasn't powerful in the Force, he couldn't even get one Muntuur to budge while everyone else could at least lift one, but it was definitely a step in the right direction for his friend.

Their training hadn't been dedicated solely to Force and sword combat either. Remus, after only a single asking from Harry, had showed up on several occasions to teach them all some fairly advanced level magic. The first and foremost of which had been the Patronus Charm. The dementor's surrounding the school provided more than ample incentive for each of them to learn the charm. By mid-October Hermione, Ron, Hannah, and Tracey were all able to create a solid mist shield while Luna had surprised them all when she conjured her own corporeal bunny patronus on only her second day of practicing the charm.

And speaking of Remus, the old wolf told Harry's friends about his little fury problem during their first private session together. And much to his amazement, Harry's friends didn't mind, despite the wizarding world's general attitude towards werewolves. Furthermore, Hermione came up with a brilliant solution to Remus's monthly needs. Instead of just going out and running around the school grounds, during the full moon they used the room of requirement to create a large forest area that was only accessible to Harry and the others. They would then escort Remus into the room just before the full moon and let him weather out his transformation in the locked forest area before realizing him the following morning.

"-bloody hell Ginny! Watch what you're doing!"

Shaking his head, Harry forced himself back into the present. Ron was on the ground, his practice sword by his side as he rubbed at his shin while a more than slightly smirking Ginny was standing next to him. "I was big brother." Ginny smirked. "Perhaps you should do the same instead of watching Hermione's bum."

Feeling a slight warning from the Force, Harry brought his training blade over his shoulder to protect his back. Astoria's attack clashed uselessly against his training sword. Before she could recover, Harry used the Force to push Astoria away from him without even turning to look at her.

"You're allowing your anger to get the better of you Astoria." Harry said turning to face his much younger opponent. "You've been watching us train for years, as well as practicing with us for years, you should know better than to charge in so recklessly."

A loud thumb followed by an 'hmpf' came from behind him. "Come on Ron!" Ginny sighed. "This is nothing compared to our summer training! You can't be tired yet."

Turning around, he saw a completely red faced Ron kneeling on the floor and glaring up at his sister. "Well I wouldn't know about that would I?" He shouted before throwing his training blade off to the side and marching straight for the door and out of the room.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to stare at the closing doors in shock. "Well shite." Ginny murmured as the doors sealed. "I was kind of expecting this to happen…but I didn't expect it to be with everyone present. I'll go talk to him and-"

"No." Harry said stopping Ginny in her tracks. "I'll talk to him. Ginny pair off with Astoria. Daphne, you're in charge until I get back."

Without waiting to see if everyone was following his orders or not, Harry marched out of the Room of Requirement and into the hallway. Once the doors sealed behind him, Harry reached into his robes and pulled out the Marauder's Map. Finding Ron wasn't entirely hard, seeing as how it was nearly one in the morning and he hadn't had enough time to put any significant distance between himself and the room of requirement. "The astronomy tower." Harry muttered closing up the map after seeing where Ron was heading.

Folding up the map, Harry tucked it into the depths of his robe before heading off after his friend.

Walking up onto the balcony of the astronomy tower, Harry found Ron bent over with both of his arms resting on the railing. "Nice night." Harry said stepping up beside Ron and looking up at the stars. "I suppose this is probably one of the best places in the castle to come and reflect on events."

Ron was silent for quite a time, before he finally sighed. "I'm a bloody idiot."

"Well I'm certainly not going to argue." Harry shrugged, which made Ron's head snap around towards him.

"You bloody well suck at cheering people up mate."

"Blame it on my mother." Harry smirked. "Now you going to tell me why you just lashed out like that."

Ron huffed and went back to staring out over the horizon. "You wouldn't understand mate."

"Try me." Harry said leaning with his back against the railing.

Biting his lip, Ron looked off to the side. "I'm bloody well useless Harry." Ron mumbled. "It's all I ever hear. 'Why can't you be more like your brother the Head Boy and top five graduate?' 'Why can't you be more like your brother the quidditch captain?' 'Why can't you be more like your git brother the Prefect and now the Head Boy?' I thought with you I could stand out…but I was wrong. I can't keep up…I'm…"

Staring at his friend, Harry pulled out his wand and held it point up. "What is this Ron?"

Ron looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Is this a joke?"

"No." Harry responded shaking his head. "Tell me what this is."

"A wand."

"Exactly." Harry said, turning his wand in a tight circle and creating a small orb of light. "And to ninety-nine percent of the world what you can do with a wand is bloody well amazing. And then there is your ability to use the Force. It's blossoming. And tell me, amongst all of the wizards and witches of the world, how many could even do the slightest bit of controlled wandless magic at your age?"

Ron seemed to brighten, but then his mood soured. "Yeah…but the others just-"

"You're not them." Harry said quickly. "You're not your brother's or your sister. You're Ronald Weasley. And until you truly accept that you are your own person…you won't be able to truly succeed. And as for being useless. You're not Ron. Sirius can't use the Force. Amelia Bones can't use the Force. Remus can't use the Force. Yet my mother relies on all of them. Bloody hell, Amelia is Head of the DMLE for crying out loud."

Taking a breath, Harry reached out and laid a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Listen Ron, just because other's can do something that you can't doesn't make you useless. And do you think that all of us got to where we are naturally? No. We had to work our asses off to get where we are now. And you'll get there too Ron. Maybe not as quickly as the others. But you will get there provided you work at it."

"I – I – Merlin…I'm an idiot aren't I?" Ron asked laughing at himself.

"Just a bit." Harry nodded. "Now come on, let's get back."

"Right." Ron nodded pushing himself off of the banister. "I – uh…I guess that we should head back down there huh? Guess I uh…need to apologize too. Any suggestions?"

"On your knees for starters." Harry nodded before stopping, his tone turning deadly serious. "But Ron…should you leave us again, I won't be coming after you again. And you won't be welcome back either."

Ron looked confused for a second at the harsh tone, but as he saw just how serious Harry was his face fell once more. Harry did like Ron as friend. He truly did. Sure he could be completely blockheaded at times…but he was still a good friend. Not to mention, he knew quite a bit of information that Harry and his mother wanted to keep under wraps for the time being. But if Ron wasn't committed…then he was a liability. And if he was a liability…then he had no place with Harry.

"Alright mate." Ron nodded his face completely serious. "I promise mate. You won't have reason to doubt me again."

* * *

Sitting in her solar, Narcissa Malfoy was the picture of a high class lady with a book in one hand, a cup of tea in her other and her faithful house elf Dobby by her side. "And you're sure of this Dobby?"

Her small little house elf nodded his head vigorously. After her decision to work against her husband, Narcissa had decided that she would need a sure way of communicating with Sirius. Dobby was her answer. The only problem was he was technically her husband's property. But that wasn't too hard to get around. A single night of wine and intense pleasure, not for her unfortunately, and she was able to collect ownership of Dobby away from her husband with him being none the wiser. Men were such fools in the throes of passion. And as her mother, the bitch that she was, always said…hold a man correctly and he will tell you whatever you want to hear.

The only trick was for Dobby to keep up appearances of being 'owned' by Lucius. Which thankfully wasn't all that hard seeing as how Lucius hardly ever looked at the elf and anytime he wanted Dobby punished, Lucius would just tell the elf to do it to himself rather than dirty his hands.

Luckily, Dobby was proving to be quite the actor…amazingly enough. He could bow and scrape to Lucius and her son, but his loyalty was solely to her.

"Yes Mistress Narcissa," Dobby nodded. "Nasty Mistress's husby been takin them's out for lunch three days in a row now."

Licking her finger, she turned another page in her book. "And have any galleons been removed from the family vault?"

"Yes Mistress Narcissa." Dobby nodded. "Fifty thousand galleons."

Frowning, Narcissa continued to stare down at the book in her hands without really reading. It was certainly a considerable amount of money. Not enough to even scratch the true wealth of the Malfoy name, but still a considerable sum to say the least. And her husband was just throwing it around. No doubt this was what her husband had been planning for…but this was sloppy for him. Such a large sum of money could be traced easily. Especially if any sort of investigation were to take place. This scheme was almost at a level that she had come to expect from her son. Which meant that he was getting desperate. And a desperate man was almost as dangerous as a patient one.

' _Draco.'_ She sighed, setting the book down and looking out the window as thoughts of her son came to the forefront of her mind. ' _Morgana…what am I going to do with you son?'_

She loved her son, she truly did. But sometimes he made it difficult to love him. Like when he concocted an idiotic scheme to get Hagrid fired or replaced. ' _Honestly Draco…what were you trying to do? Get some form of revenge? Merlin…there are better ways. You're supposed to be a Slytherin my son. So use your bloody head for a change!'_

Of course, once his plot had been foiled by Potter and he'd been properly embarrassed, Draco's next action was to write her husband about what happened. Not to her. To her husband. The only reason she even knew of the letter was because Lucius relied on Dobby to handle all of his mail for him. ' _Oh my son…if you only knew what I was doing for you!'_ The whole reason she'd agreed to work with Sirius in the first place, beyond wanting to get away from Lucius, was to somehow save her son from his father's schemes. But so far…she was failing.

"Send a notice to Sirius and Bones Dobby." Narcissa sighed, opening up her book once again. "I don't know what exactly my husband is planning…but I have a good idea. Let them know that Amelia will have to replace two of her Handlers. Soon if she can do so without raising suspicion. If not…then tell them to have Potter prepare for dementor's."

"Yes ma'am." Dobby said, bobbing his head erratically before raising his hand and disappearing with a snap of his fingers.

Letting out a low sigh, Narcissa turned the pages in her book back to where she had stopped reading an hour ago.

* * *

Standing in the ankle deep snow, Harry leaned forward while resting his forearms onto the crooked wooden fence. In front of him, layered under a blanket of snow, was the so-called 'Shrieking Shack'. After more than a few protests from the student body, and from the residents of the village just beyond Hogwarts boarders, Dumbledore had finally relented his ban on Hogsmeade trips and scheduled the first trip of the year to occur just before the Christmas Holidays were to begin.

"Out of all the places in Hogsmeade…why did you want to come here Harry?"

Looking over his shoulder, Harry watched as Ron and Hermione pushed their way through the snow so that they could join him. "Nostalgia."

"Bless you." Ron said cocking his head slightly to the side.

"He didn't sneeze Ronald." Hermione sighed shaking her head. "Nostalgia means to have a longing for the past."

"Oh, right. I knew that." Ron said licking his lips. "So…what's so nostalgia about this place? This is supposed to be the most haunted place in Britain. They say you can still hear the screams of the damned at nights around here sometimes."

"Nostalgic Ron." Hermione corrected. "And if you want to get technical, then Hogwarts is actually the most haunted place in all of Britain as it has the highest concentration of ghost in the whole of Europe."

"This is where Remus went during the full moon while he was still in school." Harry said, cutting off whatever Ron had been about to say and ending the growing argument between his two friends. "When he was a child, Fenrir turned him in retaliation for an insult from Remus's father. But despite the fact that he was a 'dark creature', Dumbledore still let him attend school. And during each full moon the teachers would escort him out here to the 'Shrieking Shack' so he wouldn't be a danger to himself or anyone else. Those screams that everyone associates with this place…they came from him."

"Oh," Ron said elegantly before scratching the back of his head.

"My father, Sirius…and the rat found out about him in their second year." Harry continued. "Instead of telling everyone though, they began researching. Half way through their third year, each of them became an animagus so that Remus wouldn't have to be alone during the full moon."

"They…they became an animagus during their third year!?" Hermione asked breathlessly. "Good Merlin…that's…brilliant!"

"Yeah," Harry mumbled, pushing himself up off of the fence. "Come on, the other's should be at the Three Broomsticks by now."

"Right…can't let them start eating without us." Ron commented, making both Harry and Hermione stop and stare at him. "What? I hear Madam Rosmerta is one of the best cooks around! And she has butterbeer on tap!"

Sharing a look with Hermione, Harry shook his head and made his way past his two friends and into the village. The village itself was absolutely bustling with activity as the students of Hogwarts ran excitedly between the dozens of shops on their first, and so far only, Hogsmead trip of the school year. Looking around, Harry was pretty sure it was from the pressure of the local townsfolk that finally convinced Dumbledore to lift his ban on the trips. This small village more than likely depended on the students of Hogwarts coming and spending their money within their shops.

After ten minutes of weaving through the crowded street, Harry finally spotted the Three Broomsticks. Making his way towards the entrance, which required more than a few small shoves of his fellow students, Harry held the door open so Ron and Hermione could make their way in.

The inside of the pub was just as packed, if not more so, than the street outside. Every table was full of students eating, drinking, and chatting with their friends. "There they are." Hermione said suddenly, standing up on her tiptoes and pointing towards the back corner of the bar. "Looks like they managed to hold onto a couple of empty seats too."

"Good. I'm starving!" Ron moaned dramatically holding onto his stomach.

"Nothing new there Ron." Harry snorted while pushing his way through the packed pub. "You're always hungry."

After sharing a quick greeting with Daphne, Tracey, Susan, and Hannah; Harry, Hermione, and Ron all sat down just as Madam Rosmerta sauntered up to their table. "Well hello there dears." The proprietor smiled. "What can I get for you all today?"

Ron, for obvious reasons, was having trouble meeting the woman's eyes. And if he was being entirely truthful…Harry was having a similar problem but he at least was trying to be more discreet about it. "Butterbeer please." Harry said with a slight smile. Hermione ordered the same, as did Ron after Hermione jabbed her elbow into his ribs to get his attention.

After the woman moved away, Daphne let out a huff. "Morgana…I'm not quite sure how she's doing it. If she bent over even a slight bit I sure she'd fall out of her dress."

"Why do you think this place is so popular with the male population of Hogwarts?" Susan asked, nodding towards Harry and a slightly blushing Ron. "At least Harry is discreet about his ogling."

Ron's mouth opened to protest, but before he could Madam Rosmerta reappeared with three cups of butterbeer. "Will there be anything else dears?"

Nodding, the table placed their food orders in with the barmaid before she turned around and disappeared into the sea of students. For the next few minutes the group just relaxed as they told each other about their first outing so far in the village. "At least we haven't seen Pansy and Draco yet." Tracey shrugged. "Didn't feel like watching those two trying to suck each other's faces off in one of their famous snogging sessions. Or more than likely listen to them try to scream each other's ears off."

"Draco and Pansy are fighting?" Hannah asked tilting her head to the side. "I thought that she did whatever the blonde ferret wanted?"

"Usually yes." Daphne nodded. "But a few days ago the two got into some argument that literally had the spoiled princes screaming at the top of her lungs."

Harry, not one for gossip, had been tuning out most of the girls conversation until he caught the last bit from Daphne. "Wait…you said that they argued a few days ago?" He asked, to which Daphne and Tracey nodded. "And now no one has seen them here in Hogsmead. So…what if there argument was because Draco said they weren't coming?"

Daphne and Susan's eyes widened in sudden understanding with Hermione's following just a moment later. "What?" Tracey asked looking around the four clearly unnerved individuals. "What am I missing?"

"My mother's warning." Harry cursed looking around at the crowded bar. If something were to happen now…the results would be catastrophic. Lucius couldn't have been this desperate…could he?

Tracey's and Hannah's eyes widened in understanding, while Ron suddenly went white. "Wait." Ron said looking around. "You all…you all really don't think that…bloody hell."

"We need to go." Harry said, rising to his feet and throwing a handful of galleons onto the table.

"Wait!" Hermione hissed looking around at the other students, none of whom seemed to be picking up on the distress of their group as they all chatted and laughed with their friends. "What about everyone-"

"If anything they'll be after us." Daphne said lowly as they made their way towards the door. "We can draw them off. Or at the very least we will be able to offer a proper defense outside."

As they drew closer to the exit, Harry's eyes were drawn to the windows in the bar. Spider webs of ice were starting to form in the corners of the window panes and slowly spreading outwards. The other students in the bar started to notice something was wrong as many began to see their own breath. "Shite." Harry cursed drawing his wand and roughly yanking the door open.

The street outside was complete pandemonium. People were running through the streets yelling out in terror. Fighting against the flow of people fleeing, Harry looked up into the sky and felt his heart lurch up into his throat. Flying above the street were over twenty, probably close to thirty, dementor's. But what was most concerning was the Auror's and Handlers. Or rather the lack of Auror's and Handlers accompanying the dementor's.

One of the dementor's hooded head turned towards him, and for the briefest of moments he heard a woman screaming a death scream in his mind. Without even needing to be told, Harry instinctively knew that he was hearing his mum, his true mum, dying to save him. Pushing back against the effects of the dementor, Harry raised his wand. " _Expecto Patronum."_

His stag patronus leapt out from his wand and ran through the air straight towards the dementor's. The dementor's started to scatter from the stag, but their actions were useless as the stag suddenly exploded in a wave of light sending off several bright blue shockwaves that sent all of the dementor's reeling away.

Pointing his wand at his throat, Harry cast a quick _sonorus_ charm on himself. "Everyone get inside." He said, his voice echoing over even the screaming of the terrified citizens. "Those who can cast the Patronus Charm stand either at the entrance points to the buildings or get in the street and cast them. We have to keep the dementor's at bay."

Harry wasn't quite sure if it was because people were taking his words to heart, or if it was simply because they were terrified, but everyone started diving towards the nearest entrance they could find while a slight handful of witches and wizards tried to fight against the flow of people. Taking his wand away from his throat, Harry cast another patronus and sent his stag to stand in the middle of the now mostly deserted street. Daphne and Susan each cast their patronus, a hawk and a badger respectively, and sent them to flank the stag.

"You four stay here." Harry said looking at Hermione, Hannah, Tracey, and Ron. None of them could produce a full corporeal patronus, but they could at least produce a strong mist that could keep dementor's away.

"And where are you three going?" Hermione shouted drawing her wand.

"We're going to go and do something incredibly Griffindorish and stupid." Daphne murmured while shaking her head.

"There are still people cornered." Harry said closing his eyes. "I can feel their fear…"

"Just stay here." Susan said as Hannah opener her mouth to protest. "We'll be fine."

"Harry." Hermione said taking a step towards them. "I don't think-"

"Hermione." Harry hissed, his harsh tone drawing his friend up short and making her eyes widen in shock. "You four can't produce a full patronus, only a mist. At the moment you would only be a liability to us rather than an asset. Stay here and defend everyone else."

Hermione looked like she wanted to argue further, but the look in Harry's eye must've convinced her that now was not the time or the place to be questioning him. "Just…just be safe you three."

Moving in sync with one another, the three waved their wands so that their patronus's were surrounding them before they took off down the now completely abandoned street. The cries of fear and terror were all around him, making it almost impossible for Harry to try and locate anyone that might be in trouble.

As they came to a three way split in the road, Daphne started looking around widely before cursing out loud. "Morgana's shaved cu…I can feel three…not too far from here. But each of them are down a different street."

"Of course they are." Susan sighed shaking her head.

Looking up, Harry grit his teeth as he saw the dementor's were finally recovered from his initial patronus detonation and were once again weaving in and out of the streets. "We spilt up." Harry said, tightening the grip on his wand slightly. "Keep your patronus's close and don't detonate them unless you have to. And no lightsabers…at least not out in the open."

After getting the briefest of nods from his fellow apprentices, Harry took off down the center street while Daphne and Susan took off down either side street.

Reaching out with his sense's, Harry latched onto the feeling of distress that was coming from in front of him. As he rounded a house, an ear piercing scream rang out through the village and the feeling of distress that he'd been following increased to almost unbearable levels.

Rounding another corner with his patronus just ahead of him, Harry's feet skidded to a stop. Less than a dozen meters in front of him was Ginny's teammate Katie Bell…wrapped in the embrace of a dementor. "No!" Harry shouted as he saw the dementor's head start to inch towards Katie's completely ashen face.

Responding to his cry, his stag charge forward. The dementor didn't even have time to react as the stag lowered its head and pierced the creature with its antlers. Letting out an unearthly cry of agony, the dementor dropped Katie as it tried, and failed to get away from the creature of light that was causing it so much pain.

"Katie!" Harry shouted, skidding to his knees next to the comatose girl.

Her face was completely ashen and her eyes were staring off into the distance completely unfocused. Wrapping one arm around her shoulders, Harry lifted her up slightly before placing a hand to the side of her head. He almost wept with relief as he could still feel her Force presence…full and intact.

"Thank the Force." Harry breathed, relaxing for only a moment before snapping his head back upright.

He could feel a darkness, separate from the one that was fighting against his patronus, coming up from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw a second dementor sweeping through the alleyway towards Harry and Katie. ' _Shite!'_ Harry cursed. ' _My patronus is still occupied with the other one. It's too early to detonate it and…no!'_

Squeezing his eyes shut, Harry tried to shut out the screaming in his head that was only getting progressively louder as the dementor approached him. When the dementor was less than a few feet away from him, the screaming in his head was almost unbarrable. "Enough!" Harry shouted, letting his anger at having to listen to his mother die course through him freely. "Back. The. Fuck. Off!"

With his left hand wrapped around Katie's shoulders, Harry waved his right hand towards the dementor trying to use the Force to push it away. But instead of feeling the normal rush of the Force leaving his hand…his skin started to tingle as the air around him crackled. Lightning leapt from his fingertips, cracking across the open air before slamming into the chest of robed demon.

The dementor let out a cry of agony as tendrils of lightning began encircling it. But despite its cry, or perhaps because of it, Harry kept pouring more and more of his power into his hand. Soon enough the creature was reduced to a twitching pile of rags on the stone streets. "How does it feel you son of a bitch!?" Harry screamed, channeling his rage into the Force lightning.

Feeling another darkness rapidly approaching him from approve, Harry cut off his attack and risked a glance up. Nearly a dozen dementor's, either drawn from the cries of their fellows or from the raw emotion that Harry was extruding, were circling above him like a flock of vultures.

"Shite." Harry cursed, pointing his wand towards his patronus, which still hand a struggling dementor pinned against the wall of house with its antlers.

With twitch of his wand, his patronus flared up briefly before exploding outwards and sending a dozen pulsing shockwaves outwards. All of the dementor's, including the one that Harry had attacked with Force lightning and the one that'd been trapped by his patronus, all fled as the powerful light-based spell chased them off. "Hold on Katie." Harry said, grimacing only slightly as he picked the girl up bridal style. "I'll get you to help."

* * *

Marching through the halls of the Ministry, Dumbledore ignored the many who greeted him as he made his way into the office of the DMLE and straight towards Madam Bones' office. The previous day's massacre, there was no other word for it, demanded action. Six of the village people had been kissed. And five of his students were in the hospital wing being treated for the trauma of being in such close proximity to the dementor's. And yet…still the dementor's remained. If it wasn't for Harry and his friends quick thinking and amazing use of the patronus charm…the causality numbers would've been much higher.

Without even bothering to knock, he opened the door with a flick of his wand and marched in. Inside the office Madam Bones was sitting behind her desk working on a large piece of parchment that was sprawled across her desk.

"There is such a thing as knocking Dumbledore." Amelia said without raising her head. "Or you could've set an appointment with my secretary. You could've even sent an owl or your phoenix requesting a meeting."

Pursing his lips, Dumbledore strode across the office. "Given current events, I felt that time was of the essence Madam Bones."

"I'm sure." Amelia said motioning for him take a seat. "Take a seat, and before you get on your soap box about the dementor's around the school, don't bother. I send about two notices a week to have them removed. And each time they're denied. Even after the events that transpired yesterday Fudge still refuses to have the dementor's removed. His official press release is that the Handlers believed that they saw Pettigrew in the village so they sent the dementor's in. And he has also issued that reparations will be made to the families of the victims who were kissed and to the students who are currently receiving treatment."

Blinking dumbly, Albus took the offered seat and waited for Amelia to finish whatever she was working on. "And what of the Handler's that-"

"Both Handlers have been dismissed from my department." Amelia said cutting him off. Picking up her parchment, she blew on the ink to dry it. "They're both currently waiting trail for criminal neglect while a few men I trust try to dig up any other information that could explain what happened. Two new Handlers have been chosen and will be integrated into the normal rotation at the end of the month. And don't you dare say that I am not doing enough to see that justice is done. My own niece and the Heir to the Bones family was caught up in this mess as well. So believe me that I am doing everything that is in my power to correct what happened yesterday. Now was there anything else you wanted to talk about? If not then I have a lot to do and would appreciate some quiet. So you can show yourself out."

Dumbledore was more than slightly disturbed by her attitude. It was not too long ago that this woman looked up to him as a mentor and a hero. She'd said so herself while she was still but a student under his care. But now…

Sighing, Dumbledore rubbed at his face. "How did we get to this point Amelia?" He asked slowly.

With a huff, Amelia set her quill down and leaned back in her seat so that the two of them could see each other eye to eye. "I used to look up to you, you know?" Amelia started off rhetorically. "You were the epitome of what I thought a wizard should be. You rallied the witches and wizards during the Second World War and personally beat Grindelwald. And after the war, when the entire world looked up to you, you never took advantage of your fame. In fact the only reasons that you have so many positions within our society is because you were basically brow-beaten into taking them on. But then the war with Voldemort started. But instead of rallying the witches and wizards to combat this new threat…you took a step back and insisted that we make whatever deals we had to with the purebloods."

Pausing, Amelia looked off into the distance before continuing. "And the Ministry followed your suggestions. Instead of going out and actively trying to stop the Death Eaters…they simply started caving to whatever demands were made. Entire families of muggles were dying each night and yet you advised us to hold back. My entire family were slaughtered and it was only by the grace of magic that I and my niece survived. And yet…despite all the deaths, both magical and muggle, you did nothing."

Albus's lips pressed into a tight line. "I assure you Amelia, I did not do 'nothing' during the war with Voldemort."

"Oh, I know all about your little 'Order of the Phoenix' Albus." Amelia said making Albus blink in surprise. ' _Sirius told her'._ "But in truth, your little Order did little more than damage control, more defensive than offensive. And then there were also your actions after the war."

Placing her elbows onto her desk, Amelia leaned forward and fix Dumbledore with a glare that reminded him greatly of her father's. "Did it never occur to you Dumbledore that a single word for you could've ensured that all those who cried 'Imperius Curse' after the war were put on trial anyway?"

The very thought had occurred to him. More and more frequently as of late. "To quote the yanks Madam Bones…hindsight is always twenty-twenty."

"Perhaps." Amelia conceded, leaning back. "But tell me Dumbledore, with everything that I've just laid out to you…is it really so surprising that I have trouble trusting you?"

Folding his hands in his lap, Dumbledore tried very hard to keep his annoyance from showing on his face. She was right…from a certain point of view. And from that same point of view he could see where she was coming from. ' _I can't lose her.'_ He thought furiously. ' _I can't allow someone of her caliber and influence to be swayed away.'_ "Then tell me how I might be able to regain your trust, Madam Bones."

Amelia leaned forward in her seat and fixed him with another 'Bones glare'. ' _By magic…I thought her father was the only one to have that look…'_ Suddenly, Dumbledore wasn't feeling too good about where this conversation was about to head. "At the end of the war, James and Lily took Harry and went into hiding. I want to know why."

' _Of all of the questions she could've asked…'_ "Lily had just given birth to Harry. Is it really so strange that they would want to hide from Voldemort? A man who had promised on several occasions to destroy them both and everything they ever loved or cared about?"

Amelia's hard gazed didn't waver. "For the longest time I believe that as well. But recently I've begun to rethink somethings. And thinking back…there was always something that bugged me about James leaving the Aurors. James was perhaps the most promising recruit that the Auror's have had in the past half century, and I'm not exaggerating that fact either. And while quite a few Auror's quit during the war out of fear…I had never pegged James for one of them. In fact, I actually defended him when a handful of Auror's called him a coward after he left."

"As I said Amelia," Dumbledore pressed. "Voldemort had sworn vengeance against him and his family."

"Yes, but then there is also the fact that Lily left her positon as a Healer that very same day and in the same manner." Amelia continued on. "And after doing a little bit of research…I located two more people who unexplainably quit their positions the same week as the Potters. Frank and Alice Longbottom."

For the second time since entering her office, it was all Dumbledore could do to keep himself from showing any emotion. ' _She's getting dangerously close…but…could she already know? No. She's fishing for information nothing more.'_

"Again, this could probably be explained by the fact that they just wanted to protect their new born son…but to have four prominent figures in the war suddenly drop out without any explanation?" Pausing, Amelia looked him right in the eye before continuing. "So I talked to Sirius. He told me that not only had the four of them gone into hiding, they also stopped all operations with your little bird club as well. And as I said…I knew James. He would never give up fighting against the man responsible for his parent's death without a good reason. And that is when Sirius let out a little tidbit that he didn't even realize he had. You see…both couples took their son's and went into hiding after they talked to you."

Albus had the unfortunate sensation of being caught between a rock and a hard place. If he told her…then the knowledge would undoubtedly get back to Nox. Which was something that he definitely did not want to happen. But if he didn't tell her anything…then any potential alliance between himself and Amelia would be gone.

Reaching a decision that he knew would come back to haunt him, Dumbledore sighed. "I'm sorry Amelia. But that knowledge in the wrong hands would be disastrous. Please understand."

Amelia's hard gaze told him all that he needed to know. "Whatever this information is…I think it already fell into the wrong hands considering Voldemort killed James and Lily and his pets put Frank and Alice in the long-term care ward of St. Mungos."

Biting back his reply, Albus rose to his feet. "Before I leave Amelia…I wish to say one last thing." He waited until he was sure that he had her undivided attention before speaking again. "Everything I have done and will do has been for the light and for the betterment of the wizarding world as a whole. Can you honestly say the same about your new 'ally'?" And with that said, he turned on his heel and left Amelia's office.

* * *

Once Dumbledore left her office, Amelia let herself fall back against her seat with a long sigh. "Well, that went about as well as we expected it too."

It took all of Amelia's training not to jump at the disembodied voice of Nox, even though she already knew she was there, as she suddenly materialized in the corner of her office. Amelia wasn't going to lie. It was more than a little unsettling just how effective Nox had become at concealing her presence. Not even Dumbledore, as she just proved, could break through her enchantments. "I would still rather not have Albus as an enemy." Amelia said slowly. "Despite everything…the man is incredibly powerful."

"Oh, I agree completely." Nox nodded taking the seat that Dumbledore had just vacated moments before. "He is powerful and if possible I would rather have him as an ally rather than an enemy. But I know his type. His lack of action during the war with Riddle could rival even the most pious and arrogant Jedi. And that drives me completely insane."

"I'm still curious about what it was that he told the Potter's and the Longbottom's that made them go into hiding." Amelia mused. "Like I said, I knew James. He wouldn't give up that fight unless he had a damn good reason to do so."

"You don't have to wonder Amelia." Nox said with that irritating smirk she wore whenever she knew something. "Dumbledore already told us."

Shaking her head, Amelia fixed Nox with the same glare that she'd given Dumbledore. "I have neither the time nor the patience for your games Nox. Speak plainly."

"Aw, you're no fun Amelia." Nox smirked before shaking her head. "But as you wish. He stressed the word 'knowledge'. And that it would be dangerous if fallen into the wrong hands. Now tell me, what type of knowledge would not only make two couples take their children and go into hiding, but also make Riddle want to drop everything and suddenly hunt both couples down? It can only be one thing. A prophecy."

As soon as she said it, Amelia felt like smacking her head against her desk. ' _Of course.'_ She thought. ' _It makes perfect sense. Dumbledore gets wind or hears a prophecy that predicts Voldemort's down fall, a prophecy which probably pointed to either Harry or Neville Longbottom. He tells James, Lily, Frank, and Alice and they all go into hiding to protect and ready their sons. Somehow Voldemort gets wind of it and so he decides to take out the threat to him before it can truly become a threat.'_

"It's too bad we don't know the exact wording of this prophecy." Nox lamented. "I've never truly been one for prophecy as they are often self-fulfilling because people will do whatever they can to make them come true. But if we knew the words of the prophecy we would have an insight into Dumbledore's intentions."

This time it was Amelia's turn to smirk as she stood up from her seat. "Well then, I guess that we will just have to go and view this prophecy then won't we?"

Nox's brow furrowed as she too stood up from her seat. "How?"

"The Hall of Prophecies." Amelia smirked. "Ever since its inception several millennia ago, the Hall of Prophecy automatically records and stores a prophecy as soon as it is made. No matter where it's origins occurred in the world."

Nox took one step towards her, then stopped. "You mean to tell me that your society has a hall that has every prophecy ever made dating back several millennia's? Please tell you me your people were at least smart enough to put some sort of security measures in place?"

"Of course." Amelia shot back harshly as the two left her office and made for the main elevator. Once they were both in and Amelia and hit the switch for the 'Hall of Prophecies' she started speaking once again. "There is only one way in and out of the room. The only available lighting within is a small rune stone that you need to carry around with you. We will also have to surrender our wands before entering. Should even a single spell be cast within the Hall, the entire Ministry goes on lock down, the ICW gets notified, and within minutes about a thousand Auror's, Hitwizards, and their international counterparts will flood the Hall looking for the one who cast a spell."

Nox actually looked fairly impressed. "Good." She said turning her attention away from Amelia. "While I do not trust prophecies, far too vague for my tastes, the knowledge contained within them can often be incredibly dangerous for those who do not take them with a grain of salt."

After a minute or so, the elevator came to a stop as the door opened revealing a long narrow corridor with only a single door at the far end a security desk with a lone guard stationed just before it.

Stepping out of the elevator, Amelia and Nox made their way down the corridor towards the Hall of Prophecies. "Madam Bones!" The young man said rising to his feet. "And…and Madam Nox! Forgive me…I wasn't expecting anyone today! I guess it's pretty obvious why you two are here hehe."

"Yes." Amelia sighed. "We're here looking for a specific prophecy."

"Of course!" The young man smiled dumbly. "What other reason would you have for being down here? Now, I just need you both to sign the log book and I can let you both in for a few min-"

"There is no need for us to sign the log book."

In front of her the young man's eyes glazed over ever so slightly. Amelia didn't even need to look behind her to know that Nox was subtly moving her hand across her body. ' _A Jedi Mind trick she called it.'_ Amelia thought as she watched the guard carefully. ' _A compulsion charm layered with an obliviate. And done with nothing more than a wave of her hand.'_

"You want to let us both in to the Hall of Prophecies." Nox said as she continued to manipulate the boy's mind. "Then you are going to go to the bathroom for the next half an hour."

Nodding dumbly, the young man reached under his desk and activated the rune that opened the door to the hall before sprinting past the two of them and into the elevator. "Was that entirely necessary Nox?" Amelia sighed as the elevator closed. "The boy will more than likely be fired for leaving his post without notice."

"If Dumbledore is guarding this knowledge so carefully, it stands to reason that he will be keeping an eye on this log book to keep track of who has been viewing prophecies. But was it necessary to do that to the young man? No I suppose not. We could've just bribed him. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd accepted a bribe." Nox said nonchalantly. "In the end, I did you a favor by giving you an excuse to fire him."

Shaking her head, Amelia moved past Nox and into the Hall of Prophecies. Once they were both in, Amelia was treated to her second treat of the day. The look on Nox's face when she finally got a good look at the fabled 'Hall of Prophecies'. "By the Force." Nox breathed looking around.

"I told you." Amelia said smirking. "Every prophecy that has been made since the hall's creation are stored here."

Nox's lips pursed as she gazed at the hundreds of shelves and thousands of prophecies. And those were just the ones in the immediate vicinity. "Unfortunately…this means that we are looking for a needle within a stack of needles within a haystack within field of hay."

"Thankfully it won't be that bad." Amelia said before moving towards a small pedestal that was station right next to the door. "The story goes that Merlin spent nearly three months in here looking for a prophecy once. Because of that, he created this book which catalogues every prophecy in here by who the prophecy is about, who made it, who heard it, and the date it was made. And it even has what the muggles would call, a search function."

Opening the cover of the book that was upon the pedestal, Amelia stared down at the small circle and a large empty box that dominated the first page of the book. Pressing her finger down firmly on the center of the circle, Amelia spoke in a clear voice. "Harry James Potter."

Ink seeped up from the page into the large box before spelling out, 'No match found'.

Frowning, Amelia licked her lips. "Tom Marvolo Riddle." Again nothing was found.

"Prophecies are often ambiguous at best." Nox said moving up beside her. "Try something a little vaguer. Like the 'Chosen One', or 'Prophesized One', or 'Dark Lord'."

Nodding, Amelia pressed her finger down again. "Chosen One."

This time, the words 'Three-hundred and eighty-four prophecies' appeared in the large box. "Well, at least we're on the right track…maybe." Amelia said frowning and keeping her finger on the circle. "Narrow search, date. Year. 1987 AD to 1990 AD."

The words within the box disappeared for a moment before reappearing. "One match found." Amelia read. "The Chosen One and the Dark Lord. Made in 1989 by S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D. and S.T.S. Well I'm not quite sure who the seer was or who the second listener was…but I'd recognize these initials anywhere."

Peering over the book, Nox nodded once before stepping back. "So Dumbledore heard the prophecy."

"Apparently so." Amelia nodded, taking note of the location stated in the book. "Come on, we might not be able to remove or view the prophecy. But if we can find it we can bring Harry down here later and have him collect it for us."

Picking up a small rune stone from the pedestal, Amelia touched the center of the rune making it float to a point above her head and light up. Together, the two walked side by side through the thousands of crystal balls as they tried to locate the prophecy. After nearly five minutes of walking, the two finally found the spot that was supposed to hold the prophecy. The crystal ball was gone, and in its place was a large black spot.

"He really doesn't want anyone to know the contents of that prophecy does he?" Nox mused as the two of them stared at the blackened spot that'd once been a crystal ball. "I thought that you said this place would go on lockdown if anyone cast a spell in here?"

"It would." Amelia nodded. "But as I'm sure you know, the muggles have developed dozens, maybe even hundreds, of small portable explosive devices. I'm sure Dumbledore could've snuck one in. And that also means that I need to speak to the Unspeakables about upgrading the protections in here."

Nodding, Nox took a step towards the shelf and stared at the name plate beneath where the prophecy should've been. "What is the name of the Divination teacher at Hogwarts?"

Amelia blinked at the sudden question. "Sybil Trew – son of a bitch." Amelia growled. "Sybil must've given him the prophecy just before she became the Divination professor. That's more than likely why Dumbledore hired her in the first place."

"Exactly." Nox nodded. "Destroy the only known copy of the Prophecy, and hide the one that gave it in the first place. That way only Dumbledore would know it in full."

"No, there is someone else." Amelia frowned. "S.T.S. Merlin's beard…I really wish when he'd created the book Merlin had enchanted the bloody thing to spew out whole names rather than just initials."

"It would've made our job easier." Nox agreed. "But now at least we know what we need to do. As getting the prophecy from Dumbledore will more than likely be impossible…our only option is to try and find out just who this second person is. Or was."

* * *

After the dementor attack in Hogsmead, the Headmaster had cancelled all excursions from the castle for the rest of the year. Which made the winter holidays extremely boring as Harry and his friends, who all decided to stay at the school over the break, were stuck indoors. The only upside to the cancellation was that it gave the group of ten ample time to train without having to worry about being caught by their fellow students or teachers during the break.

But amazingly enough, a few good things did come out of the attack on Hogsmead. During the leaving feast before the Winter Holidays, the Headmaster had called out Harry, Daphne, Susan, Hermione, Ron, Hannah, and Tracey specifically and awarded them all special awards, and a shite loud of house points, for their actions in the defense of Hogsmead. Harry didn't necessarily care about the House points or the awards, but what he did care about was the respect and awe he saw in his fellow student's eyes as they stared at him and his friends.

The second noteworthy thing that happened after the attack occurred as the students came back from the break. During the first evening feast Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, and Angelina Johnson all approached him. Katie, much to Harry's shock, gripped his hair and planted a firm kiss on his lips before letting him go. While he was still reeling from receiving his first, and very unexpected kiss from a girl, Angelina loudly announced to the entire school that the 'Crimson Vixen's' had his back at all times no matter what. And then after her declaration, the three turned and left Harry sitting there completely dumbfounded.

After that the year progressed as usual. The few quidditch matches that were scheduled, which Dumbledore almost cancelled, were still held but with nearly three times the number of Aurors, Hitwizards and Handler's present at all times to make sure the dementor's didn't come anywhere near the arena.

The only time the seemingly peaceful school year broke showed signs of cracking was in mid-March just after the night of a full moon.

Walking into the Defense classroom, Harry took his customary seat next to Daphne and began pulling out his book and quill. Usually this was one of the classes that he looked forward too. However today he was not looking forward to it. There had been a full moon the night prior, and Harry knew from experience that there was no way that Remus would be up and moving around today. The forced transformation was just too strenuous on the body. But because Remus wouldn't be able to teach, that meant that they would be forced to endure a substitute. And knowing the teaching staff…there was little doubt in his mind about just who would be teaching.

Hearing the door slam open, harry turned his head just enough to see who had entered – and groaned. The greasy git had in fact managed to weasel his way into teaching the class.

Marching between the desks, Snape pulled out his wand and began closing the shutters on the windows with far more force than necessary. Upon reaching the front of the classroom, he roughly yanked down on the projector screen and then turned to the class. "Turn to page three-hundred and forty-forty."

Opening his book, Harry had to fight the urge to curse Snape right there and then. ' _Werewolves…the grease fucking git gets one class and he just has to do a lesson on werewolves. Vindictive git.'_

"Professor." Hermione called out raising her hand. "Forgive me sir, but werewolves are not part of this year's lesson-"

"Are you the Professor here miss know-it-all?" Snape asked scathingly. "Ten points from Gryffindor Ms. Granger. Now turn your books to page three-hundred and forty-four."

The sounds of rustling pages filled the room as Snape activated the projector with a tap from his wand. The projector screen came to life showing various depictions of transformed werewolves attacking humans. "Werewolves can masquerade as anyone." Snape said pacing back and forth down the length of the class as the projector cycled through the various images. "But do not be deceived. Werewolves will attack even their best friends when they are transformed."

"Professor." Hermione called out raising her hand.

Snape didn't even acknowledge her as he continued on his lecture. "If a werewolf bites or scratches someone when transformed, the victim will become a werewolf. Provided of course they survived the encounter in the first place. If they are bitten by a werewolf when there is no full moon, the victim will not become a werewolf but they will acquire some of the werewolf's characteristics. Like a taste for raw meat. So make no mistake, whether they are transformed or nnot a werewolf is a dangerous animal. And the ministry agrees as they have correctly classified them as 'dark creatures'."

"Professor!" Hermione called out again much louder this time. "Werewolf's maybe dangerous during the full moon, but that is only one day a month! The other days they are perfectly normal. And there is the Wolf's Ban-"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for taking without being called on Granger." Snape snapped without even turning towards Hermione. "Now then…if our resident 'know-it-all' is finished pretending to be the professor for the day. Perhaps the rest of you can focus on the lecture and take notes like you're supposed to be doing."

For the rest of the class Snape lectured on the dangers of werewolves as well as how the werewolves had been strong supporters of numerous Dark Lords throughout history. Several times during the class Hermione looked like she wanted to interject, but each time Harry managed to catch her eye and stop her from saying anything. It wasn't that he cared about losing House points, he just knew a pointless battle when he saw one.

"For your homework tonight," Snape drawled on as the class came to an end. "I want a twelve inch essay on how to identify a werewolf correctly while they are transformed and while they are not. Class dismissed."

As everyone packed up their bags and hurried out of the classroom, Harry instead made his way towards the teacher's desk. "What is it Potter?" Snape asked sitting down behind the desk. "I thought I made your homework assignment perfectly clear. Even a dunderhead like you should be able to handle it."

Harry didn't say anything as he just continued to stare at Snape. "I wonder Professor." Harry said, staring at Snape directly in the eye. "Did you become so vindictive because my father got the one thing you desired more than anything in the world? Or is it because my birth mother choose someone other than you?"

Snape's reaction was instantaneous and predictable. "Why you little-" The legilimency attack from the man hit against Harry's mind like a sledge hammer. But after training under his mother since the day he would walk and talk…Snape's attack had the same effect as shooting BB gun at a freight train.

With the slightest of smirks, Harry threw Snape's attack right back at him, forcing the man to rock back into his chair. "That wasn't smart Professor." Harry smirked. "You should know by now that I'm on extremely friendly terms with Amelia Bones, the Head of the DMLE. And she has just been waiting for you to step one toe out of line so she can throw you in Azkaban. And using legilimency on a student? That isn't just stepping a toe out of line, that's dashing past it at a full sprint. Have a good day Professor."

Not wanting, or willing, to give Snape the chance to get the last word in, Harry turned on his heel and marched out of the classroom with a more than slight smirk across his face. He wouldn't turn Snape in. Not yet at least. But that didn't mean that he couldn't play with the git. But if anything happened to Remus…then Harry would not be holding back.

* * *

"-even listening to me Nox?"

Giving herself a mental shake, Nox forced herself to focus on Sirius. "Yes." She said, rubbing at her temple. "You were saying that the Patel's are open for discussions about how they can provide us with a way into the magical court in India."

"Right." Sirius nodded slowly. "So, anyway. As I was saying, the Patel's are open to talks with our voting block. Apparently Harry has made quite an impression on their two daughters and-"

As Sirius continued rambling on, Nox closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose and fought against the headache that'd been steadily building. The Force had been…acting strange. For lack of better phrasing. There were always slight fluctuations in the Force, although as of late they had dimmed considerably. But today…the fluctuations were worse than ever. It was as if the Force was crying out in agony.

"And what do they want for their cooperation?" Nox asked, rubbing at her eyes.

When no response came, she opened her eyes. Sirius was staring at her with concern. "Are you sure you're alright Nox?" Sirius asked. "We can do this another time if you're feeling under the weather."

"I'm fine." Nox said with more conviction than she actually felt. "Now tell me what the Patel's want in exchange for-"

Her words cut off with a strangled scream of agony as the Force pounded relentlessly against her mind. Clutching at her head, she fell to the ground, clawing at her head as the Force pierced through her mind like liquid fire.

Her vision darkened, before hundreds of visions flashed through her mind. She saw a man in black robes standing before a hologram of a solder. A Republic trooper judging by the style of his armor. The withered creature smiled as he stared at the soldier. "The time has come. Execute order 66."

The vision changed, and she was on rain soaked planet watching as a Cerean Jedi led a battalion of Republic troopers against a droid army. Cutting a path across the bridge they were battling for, the Jedi waved towards his troops to rally them. But then the troopers stopped and raised their weapons not at the droids, but at the Jedi. The Cerean must felt the danger, for he turned just in time to block several blaster bolts that'd been fired by his own troops. But even a Force sensitive could not stand for long against the barrage of a hundred blasters. And soon the inevitable happened and the Jedi was struck once. Twice. Ten times. Even after he was down the troopers kept firing upon his corpse.

The vision shifted again, and she was with a Kel Dor Jedi as he led a fighter squadron over a city skyline. His fighter escort pulled back from him and opened fire. The Jedi didn't even have time to maneuver his fighter before it was engulfed in the flames and sent crashing into a building.

The vision flashed again, and she watched as thousands of troopers marched into a Jedi temple. An elder human Jedi stepped forward, his hands held up in a non-threatening manner while asking what the trouble was. The lead trooper didn't even hesitate as he raised his blaster and put a single bolt between the Jedi's eyes.

Another flash and she was standing in a circular room with children cowering behind whatever they could find. The doors to the room opened as a lone Jedi walked into the room. One of the children stood up and ran up to the Jedi. The Jedi just stood stock still staring at the children. His lightsaber sprung to life in an instant, and the brave child that approached him was cut down without mercy. "For Padme. For the power I need to save her." The man mumbled before using the Force to choke the life out of another child while using his lightsaber to bisect a child who tried to run past him.

Another flash and she watched as a Jedi sped through a desert planet on a speeder. And just as before, her two trooper guards backed off and then opened fire on her before she even realized she was in danger.

Hundreds of visions passed before her eyes. Each time she was forced to watch as yet another Jedi, or several, were cut down by the ones they trusted to protect them. Their pain, their despair, the sense of betrayal. She felt it all each time a Jedi fell.

When the visions flashed again, she almost begged for them to stop. She witnessed as a human female and her young Padawan fought against a squad of troopers. The female Jedi turned to her padawan and ordered him to run. The young man hesitated. But the Jedi repeated her order, saying that she would be right behind him. With tears in his eyes, the young padawan turned and ran. The vision followed the youngling as he ran and ran. All too soon, Nox felt the now familiar sensation of a Jedi dying, and the young man fell to his knees with a wail of despair.

"Get up you fool!" Nox shouted at the boy. "Your Master gave her life so you might live! Now run!"

Nox wasn't sure if her words even reached the young man, but after only a brief moment for morning the young man was back on his feet and running as fast as he could.

The vision shifted again, and she found herself top a large forest canopy. Two troopers in camouflage armor stood side by side behind a pair of wookies who were in turn flanking a small green Jedi, who looked to be in pain. Nodding to each other, the two troopers raised their weapons. "Behind you!"

The green Jedi's head snapped up at her words and he jumped and spun backwards towards the two troopers. Both were dead within in an instant as the Jedi's lightsaber took off their heads. The two wookies immediately took up defensive positions around the Jedi, but the little green Jedi wasn't paying attention to them. He was facing her. "Shrouded in the Force you are." The little being said while deactivating his lightsaber. "The dark side I sense…but tempered by the light. Your name, I know not…but my thanks, you have." And with that, the two wookies left the encampment with the little green Jedi climbing onto their backs.

The vision shifted again, and this time she found herself on another forest planet. A blue skinned twi'lek was standing on a ridge overlooking the valley below as her troops slowly fanned out behind her. "No…" Nox muttered, closing her eyes. "No more!"

With a scream she lashed out with the Force. The troopers who were just about to execute the Jedi all flew backwards, some off the ledge and to their deaths. Her actions caught the attention of the twi'lek, who turned and drew two lightsabers before taking a defensive stance. One of the troopers that hadn't died from her attack raised his blaster and fired at the Jedi. "Run you fool!" Nox shouted as the twi'lek deflected several blaster shots. "Run!"

The twi'lek, after deflecting one more right back at the trooper, stared blankly where Nox was standing. "I can't see you…but I can feel you." The twi'lek said, taking a step back towards the ledge. "You have my thanks…mysterious stranger." And with that she jumped off the edge before landing gracefully into a tree and then disappearing into the brush.

The vision flashed, only instead of finding herself into the next vision, she found herself standing in space amongst the stars. Only they weren't stars. They were Force presences around the galaxy. And as she watched, the stars slowly faded one by one until only less than a hundred or so remained. "Enough!" She shouted, clutching her hands to her head in a vain attempt to block out the cries of anguish from the Force.

Just barely a decade and a half ago she would've reveled in the slaughter. Hell, she would've taken part in it joyfully. But now…now all she could feel was pain. Pain and agony as the balance of the Force was destroyed and cast into darkness. Pulling deeply on the Force, she reached out to each light that was still shinning. "Jedi…you have been betrayed from within and from without. The leaders you once followed have order your deaths. And one of your own has gone into your temple and slaughtered your younglings."

She felt a dark presence reach out to her, trying to stop what she was doing. But with how much power the Force was granting her at this moment, the presence might've well have been a fly buzzing around her head. A fly that she swatted away, which briefly granted her a vision of the withered creature flying across a room and crying out in pain. "Conceal yourselves." She continued, surprising the dark presence. "Immerse yourselves in the Force. Learn that there is more to the Force than just the light. Learn the light and the dark. And one day I will come and collect you all. And you shall have your vengeance on the ones who dared destroy the balance and the Force. Remember these words Jedi…for they shall guide you. Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order. May the Force be with you all."

Severing her connection to the Jedi, she refocused on the two Sith presences that were standing out like a pair of beacons. "I know you two can hear me." She said. "Enjoy your brief victory. Prepare whatever armies you will. Build whatever weapons you will. Hide if you're so inclined. In the end…it will not matter. For the pain you two have just forced me to endure I will destroy everything you've built. And once I've taken everything from you...only then will I allow you two to die."

* * *

Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry idly poked at his food. His head had been aching for nearly an hour now. Why he didn't know…but he had a constant sense of forbearing…as if the Force was warning him that something terrible was about to happen.

While the others around him conversed happily, Harry just continued to stare down at his food. "Harry? What's going on?"

Turning his head to the side, he saw that Ginny had leaned in close to him so that only the two of them could hear. Her face was mildly pale, but not nearly as bad as his own, he was sure of that. "I don't know." Harry whispered back before stealing a glance towards Hermione, who looked equally troubled.

Glancing over his shoulder, he looked for the rest of his friends. Luna was looking quite pale at the Ravenclaw table while staring off into the distance. Both Susan and Hannah were blinking and both looked to be having quite a bit of trouble paying attention to what was going on around them. At the Slytherin table Tracey looked only slightly bothered while Daphne…Daphne looked like someone had just walked over her grave.

"Something's going to happen." Harry said quietly. "I – I don't know what. But…but the Force is warning us…all of us that something really really bad is about to happ-"

And then it happened. Harry didn't know what it was or why it was happening…all he knew was pain. It felt like his heart had stopped. Grasping the table he gasped for breath as. All around him, his fellow House mates had stopped whatever they were doing and turned to stare at him. Beside him Ginny had gone incredibly pale and Hermione looked to be fighting against being sick. But as his reaction was the most apparent, everyone was ignoring his friends in favor for him.

Letting go of the table, Harry grabbed onto the front of his robes just above his heart. Breathing heavily, he was vaguely aware that it wasn't just his House mates that were now looking at him, but the entire school. Including the teachers. "Oh…bugger…." And then everything went dark. And the last thing Harry remembered was several voices shouting his name and the floor coming up to meet him at a remarkable pace.

* * *

With a jolt, Nox sat bolt upright in her bed. "Whoa!" She heard as something fumbled onto the ground. "Guess that teaches me for wanting to cuddle with my sick girlfriend."

"Tonks." Nox mumbled rubbing a hand to her forehead. "How long have I been out?"

Tonks's head poked up from the edge of the bed as her hair shifted from blue to a vibrant red. "Oh, hi Tonks, glad to see you. I didn't hurt you did I? Thank you for staying with me while I slept."

"Nymphadora." Nox said sharply drawing the younger woman up short. She rarely used the woman's first name unless she was serious or they were being intimate. And this was not a time for intimacy. "How long have I been out for?"

"About four days." Tonks said, her hair shifting from red back to pink. "What…what happened Ziri? Why did you pass out like that? Sirius said you were rubbing your head one minute, and then the next you were screaming your head off. You damn near shook the house off its foundation with all the power you were extruding."

' _Four days.'_ Nox through swinging her legs off the side of the bed. ' _Not a record…but certainly impressive._ '

"Do you remember what I told you of the Sith and the Jedi?"

Rising to her feet, Tonks slowly nodded. "They represent the dark and the light side of the Force and are constantly warring with one another. And you said that there were only two Sith left in the part of the galaxy you came from."

"Right." Nox nodded making to stand to her feet, and nearly falling right back down if not for Tonks who was immediately by her side supporting her. "The Sith have made their move…and the Jedi are nearly extinct. And the delicate balance of the Force has been destroyed and the Force left in darkness."

Tonks just blinked at the revelation. "Well…shite."

"That's about as an appropriate summation as I could say." Nox said shaking her head and shrugging off Tonks's support before stepping away from her bed.

"So…so why did you pass out?"

Stopping mid-step, Nox turned around and stared at Tonks out of the corner of her eye. "Apparently I've become more in tune with the Force than I ever thought possible." She said before turning around fully and facing Tonks. "Imagine dying again…and again…and again. I not only saw as every Jedi died. I felt them die. Their anger, their sense of betrayal, their pain. Their passing on into the Force. I felt it all. Several thousand times over."

"…Bloody hell."

"But that wasn't all." Nox said turning away from Tonks. "I also felt the Force itself cry out in agony as the balance was destroyed. It was…Force I can't even describe how terrible it felt. Being forced to sit back and watch it all happen…and to know that I couldn't do anything to stop it."

"But you did do something to stop it Nox."

Both Nox and Tonks whipped around with their wands snapping out into their open hands. "Oh," Nox sighed lowering her wand. "It's you."

The ethereal spirit standing opposite of the two of them smiled as he took a step towards them. "Now Nox, what sort of greeting is that?"

"Ziri?" Tonks questioned keeping her wand trained on the spirit. "Who is this…ghost?"

"He's not a ghost Tonks." Nox answered reaching out and forcibly lowering her wand arm. "At least not how you understand them. He's a Force spirit. And his name is Revan."

Tonks's eyes widened almost comically as she looked back and forth between Nox and Revan. "Wait… _the_ Revan?! The one who you fought against…and the one that sent you here with those other two."

"The one and the same Nymphadora Tonks." Revan nodded before looking back and forth between them. "Hmm, I see that you still go after the wild ones. First Ashara and now this lovely lady. Despite everything that happened between us Nox, I must admit. You have good taste."

Sighing, Nox slipped her wand back into its holster. "After what I just experienced Revan I have little patience for your games. Now how and why are you here? I thought you said the Force shroud surrounding this planet prevented you from coming here."

"It does." Revan nodded. "Or at least it did. Recent events have temporarily weakened the shroud, and with the shroud weakened I was allowed to cross over into this world. Albeit temporarily. I can already feel the shroud reforming and pushing me out so I must be brief."

"Good." Nox said snapping her wand back out before conjuring herself a chair to sit down in. "So get on with whatever you have come to say and go."

One of Revan's eyebrows raised at her casual usage of magic, and Nox felt herself smile despite herself. "Yes." Revan said slowly. "As you saw, the Sith have made their move and the Jedi are nearly extinct. If not for your actions and the power you were briefly gifted by the Force, they would only number a dozen or so instead of nearly two hundred. But now, more than ever, your 'Guardians' are needed Nox. Your son, Harry, and your apprentices Daphne and Susan must go through the trials."

Nox felt her heart lurch in her chest and she gripped her wand tighter. "How do you know about them? I thought you couldn't see what was happening on this planet?"

"I can't." Revan answered. "But during this short time I've been allotted, I've studied your actions extensively. I must say your adopted son is a marvel. He's powerful. Perhaps even more powerful than myself at that age. And your fellow apprentices are not far behind. Which is why you need to send the three through the Trials. The balance they can give the Force is vital. Now more than ever."

Leaning back, Nox let her head rest against the back of her chair. "I haven't devised Trials yet."

"Because you are scared."

Nox's eyes hardened as she glared at Revan. "I am not scared Revan." Nox hissed as the candles in the room began to flicker.

"Yes you are Nox." Revan shot back calmly. "You're scared that your son could die during the trials. Or worse, he succeeds and decides that he doesn't need you anymore. Because of your fear of losing him, you've been holding him back. But you cannot afford for your fear to rule you anymore Nox. The Force cannot afford for you to be ruled by your fear. Harry, and the other two, must got through the trials."

"Um, excuse me." Tonks said raising her hand. "I – uh – I realize that I'm the odd one out here, but what exactly are these 'Trials' you two are talking about?"

Turning his head, Revan stared at Tonks. "The Trials are what both Sith and Jedi apprentices went through to become either full Knights or Lords. No two trials were the same, and the difference between the Sith and Jedi trials were quite extreme. Most notably, while during the course of the Jedi Trials it was not uncommon for one to be severely injured, during the Sith Trials it was not uncommon for one to die. But both trials required one to immerse themselves fully in the Force. And it was during this short time that they could slightly touch upon the delicate balance of the Force."

Abruptly rising from her chair, Nox strode past Revan and stood before the window in her room. "I understand the necessity of Harry going through them Revan." Nox said still staring out the window facing the London skyline. "But as I said, I haven't developed their trials yet. And considering this new Sith is currently scouring the galaxy for any Force sensitive, I highly doubt I'd be able to slip three highly Force sensitive children past him and to either Tython or Korriban."

"And that's why you won't be going to either." Revan said making Nox turn back around to face him. "Check Satale's holocron Nox. Find a reference to the world called Odessan. It is there that Satale and Darth Marr failed to create what you have created. And it is there that your son and your apprentices will go through their Trials." Pausing, Revan looked up before closing his eyes. "My time here is at an end Nox. I doubt we will speak again. Farewell. And may the Force be with you now and always."

For some time after Revan disappeared, the two women stood in silence, although for two completely different reasons. Eventually, Tonks hesitantly stepped up to where Revan had been and waved her hand around. "Bloody hell," Tonks breathed. "That was different."

"A fairly normal occurrence for me." Nox sighed. "I need to write some letters. And you need to pack."

Tonks blinked. "Wait, what?"

Nox smirked despite herself. "If you really think that I'm going to be stuck on board a ship with over half a dozen teenagers for perhaps a month or two by myself, then you're crazy. You're coming with me. As is Remus and Aela."

"Wait, wait!" Tonks said waving her hands around. "What do you mean over half a dozen teenagers? And where – wait. Another world?! That means you're ship and – and oh Merlin's saggy balls! We're leaving Earth!?"

"Yes we're leaving Earth." Nox said stepping past Tonks. "And as for the teenagers, besides Harry, Daphne and Susan there's also; Ginny, Hermione, Luna, Tracey, Hannah, and even Ronald. While none of them are ready for the trials yet, it will be good for them to see just what is at stake."


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So just a quick note here. I've decided that this won't be a three part story…it'll be four. Pending that I can keep up on all of them. Each part is a different arc. This first one,** **In All Things Balance** **, then there will be** **IATB: The Rise** **, then** **IATB: The Unification War** **, and lastly will be** **IATB: The Return** **. I have a rough outline for all of the arcs at the moment. No guarantee's however that they will all be the same lengths however.**

 **Just wanted to send out a huge thank you to everyone who's reviewed, altered, or add this story to your favorites. Thank you all so much. I never expected this story to get such a response when I started writing it and I hope that the trend will continue.**

 **One of my reviewers asked for a general outline of power distribution or ranking, and I thought that it was a good idea so here is my ranking just to give everyone a better idea of where people stand. Now this ranking also takes into experience, not just raw power. So the rankings of the younger generation will change as they grow.**

 **S) Nox, Palpatine, Voldemort, Dumbledore, Yoda, Revan**

 **AA) Bellatrix, Kenobi, Vader**

 **A) McGonagall, Flitwick, Sirius, Remus, Snape, Aayla S.**

 **B) Harry, Lucius, Aela, Bill W.**

 **C) Daphne, Susan, Ginny, Fleur, Victor, Cedric**

 **D) Luna, Hermione, Tracey, Hannah, Fred, George**

 **E) Ron, Draco, Wormtail**

 **F) Crabbe, Goyle**

 **One last thing before we begin. I'm and desperately searching for a beta to help me go back through this story and to work on my future works. If you are interested, or have a good suggestion, please let me know!**

 **Also, I'm looking for someone to do some cover art for this story and the next. I would…but I am completely terrible when it comes to drawing or painting. So if anyone feels up to the challenge, please let me know via PM and we can chat some more.**

 **2nd A/N - Chapter re-posted because I had a serious brain fart and several reviewers let me know lol.**

 **Chapter 18**

Sitting in the room of requirement, Harry looked down at the note in his hand and read it over for a tenth time. After the 'incident', as he and his friends had come to call it, Harry had sent Hedwig off to his mother with a letter asking for her to explain what had happened. All that Harry knew was that something bad, very bad, had happened. And while he had no clue as to what it might be…he knew that it involved pain. And…and so many other emotions that he couldn't make heads or tails of it. But whatever it was, it'd sent ripples through the Force so powerful that it'd knocked him out cold for a full day.

Luckily, or unluckily pending on your point of view, he'd apparently received the worst of it as Daphne and Susan only ended up being light headed and not passing out. The only other two who were affected where Ginny and Luna, and both were only admitted to the hospital wing for headaches. The others had apparently been unaffected by whatever had transpired.

After five days with no word from his mother about what had happened, Hedwig returned with a letter clutched in her talons. He'd barely managed to get two steps out of the Great Hall before he tore into the letter, hoping to find some sort of explanation. But instead of receiving an explanation like he'd expected…he received something else completely. Something that he was still trying to figure out how to react too.

"So have you finally decided to tell us what was in your mother's letter Harry?"

Looking up from the letter in his hands, Harry saw that all of his friends were passing through the entrance and into the room of requirement. "I'm sorry for calling you all here so early on a Saturday." Harry started off. Saturday was usually reserved for their school work, and while they still trained it wasn't until late at night like every other day. "But…the letter my mother sent me…I needed to talk to you all immediately."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "Is it about what happened a few days ago?"

"No." Luna said tilting her head to the side. "But…people died. A lot of people. There was pain. So much pain."

Biting the inside of his cheek, Harry nodded reluctantly. "Luna's right. A few days ago…a lot of Jedi died. Almost all of them."

Everyone in the room, save for Luna, looked completely gob smacked. "How?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know." Harry shrugged. "And neither does my mother. Or at least she isn't sure of all the details of how it came to pass. But their deaths…it was so sudden and unexpected that their pain and sense of betrayal echoed through the Force. That is what we felt. But that isn't why I asked all of you here."

"So…why are we here?" Ron asked rubbing the back of his head.

Licking his lips, Harry made sure he met both Susan's and Daphne's eyes before answering. "Because of what happened…my mother has decided that Susan, Daphne and I are to go through our Trials this summer to become full-fledged Guardians."

The blood drained from both Susan's and Daphne's faces. "Our Master…thinks were ready for the Trials?" Susan asked, her voice heavily with fear and awe.

"Yes." Harry answered simply.

"That's great!" Hannah said, smiling brightly until she saw the look on Susan's face. "Isn't it?"

"Yes it is." Harry nodded. "But…the Trials, at least what we've heard of them are, or at least can be, brutal. Severe injuries are common place and more often than not required. Every aspect of your training is put to the test. And for those who are truly not ready…well…"

"You can die." Daphne answered for him. Her back straight and her head held high. "But our Master believes that we're ready Harry. And her word is all that I need to know that I can and will pass the trials."

"Daphne's right." Susan nodded, her voice shaking only slightly. "If Master Nox believes that we are ready…then we are."

' _They're right.'_ Harry thought as he stared at his two fellow apprentices. ' _Mother would only bring this upon us if she truly believed that we could pass. I can't let her down. I won't._ '

"There's more." Harry continued on. "While only the three of us will be going through the Trials, my mother wants the rest of you to come along as well. So she's sending an invite for all to come with us over the summer to a place that only she knows of and can get too."

Daphne's eyes widened as did Susan's. Both of them were well aware of the fact that his mother wasn't of this world. So by saying that his mother would be taking them to a location that only she knew about or could get too…they both realized that his mother would be taking them away from Earth. And that he secret would no longer be a secret.

Hermione's eyes brightened at the prospect of traveling somewhere that only his mother knew about. He could only imagine what her reaction would be once she figured out that they would be leaving Earth for a time. "How long would we be gone for?" Hermione asked, clearly excited. "I – I don't get a lot of time with my parents. And I know that they won't let me go if they can't at least see me for part of the summer."

"Honestly…I don't know." Harry answer honestly. "It could take us a week or two to even reach where we're going for the Trials. And then the Trails have been known to take weeks…possibly even a month."

"So, what you're saying is that we'll more than likely be gone all summer, right?" Tracey pressed.

"More than likely." Harry nodded. "But my godfather is working on some means for us to talk with everyone here in Britain. And we won't be going alone either. Remus, his girlfriend Aela and my cousin Tonks, who's an Auror, are all coming with us as well. And we'll be learning from them the entire time we're gone as well."

Hermione, Tracey, Hannah, Ginny and Ron didn't necessarily look too thrilled after learning that they would more than likely be gone for the entire summer. But the fact that they would be having private instructions from an Auror, their defense professor, and his mother was apparently enough to at least slightly sway them. "When…when would we be leaving?" Hermione asked slowly. "My parents would want to spend at least some of the summer with me. And where exactly are we going?"

"We won't be heading out until at least a week or two into summer vacation." Harry answered. "As to where we're going…I can't tell you that because honestly I don't really know. Only my mother does. But one thing she did stress…all of us are going to have to give a magical oath to never reveal where we went or how we got there until she allows us too."

Harry knew that that little tidbit wasn't going to go over very well. And judging by the looks that his friends where casting towards one another, he was right. "That…that doesn't sound ominous at all." Hannah winced. "I mean…I sure that we'll be fine. But to swear a magical oath? That – that isn't a small thing you're asking of us."

"We know." Daphne answered. "Which is why the three, well four if you count Astoria, will be swearing the same oath as all of you. That way we are all in the same boat."

Ginny's eyes narrowed slightly as she looked between Harry, Susan, and Daphne. "You three know where we're going. Don't you? Or at least you have a fairly decent idea."

"We have our suspicions Ginny," Susan shot back. "But we can't tell you until you swear the oath."

"Why do we even need to swear an oath in the first place?" Ron asked. "I mean…isn't our word good enough?"

"For me, yes it is." Harry nodded. "But unfortunately this information is…extremely sensitive. And a magical oath will protect the knowledge of where we went from being forcibly taken from you. And that, more than anything, is the reason why my mother is insisting on an oath."

"So…it's not that your mother doesn't trust us. It's just that she doesn't want someone to forcibly steal the information from us?" Hermione asked slowly, to which Harry nodded.

That seemed to appease his friends, if only slightly. The next few minutes were completely silent as everyone in the room contemplated their decision. "I'll be going with you." Luna said breaking the silence. "I'm sure father won't mind. As long as I tell him if I manage to find a crumple-horned snorkack wherever it is that we're going."

"Well…I'd love to go with you mate." Ron said next after casting a glance at Ginny. "But…not really sure if our mum will let us-"

"Just leave mum to me Ron." Ginny countered. "I know how to deal with her. With one letter I can almost guarantee that she will be almost forcing us to go."

Ron blinked at his sister blankly for a moment before turning back to Harry. "Well…I guess we're in then. But…we will be back before the world cup this year right mate? It's being held in Britain for the first time in a century! And I heard from Bill that dad managed to get tickets too! So…so as long as we're back before then I'm with you."

"I can't promise you when we'll be back Ron." Harry sighed. "But…at the very least I'm sure that Sirius will be there. And if we can't go I'm sure he can find some way to broadcast the game to us."

With Luna and the Weasley's confirmed, Harry turned his head towards Tracey and Hannah. Tracey bit her lip and looked towards Daphne for a moment before letting out a low sigh. "Well…If Daph is going then so am I. I'm sure I can talk my father into letting me go. He'd probably enjoy it. It'd make it easier for him to bring women home if I wasn't there anyway."

"If I can convince my parents to let me, I'm in as well." Hannah nodded.

With everyone in agreement, all eyes turned towards their resident bookworm. Hermione started fidgeting under their combined scrutiny as she nervously began chewing on her thumb nail. "It's not that I don't want to go." Hermione started. "I do, believe me. It's just…my parents really want to see me and…well and I want to see them too."

"If this communication devise that Sirius is working pans out, then you'll be able to see them whenever you want." Harry countered. "Plus you'll have a week or so at the beginning of summer and maybe a week or two at the end of summer as well. And you could pass this off as some sort of magical internship if you think that it'll help sway your parents."

Hermione's eyes lit up at the idea and she slowly nodded her head. "Alright Harry…I'll find a way to convince my parents."

"Good." Harry smiled now that everyone was on board. He just couldn't wait for when they actually started traveling. His friends were going to be in for such a shock. "And my mother asked one more thing of us. Well, more of Daphne and Susan really."

"What is it?" Daphne asked as she and Susan shared a look.

"My mother wants you two to wait to claim your apprentices until after your trials are done." Harry announced, which drew several groans of disappointment from his friends who'd all been itching to find out who would become the next official apprentices. "She said it would be more official and traditional for you two to take your apprentices after you pass your Trials."

* * *

Sitting at her desk, Nox idly rolled the rolled-up scroll that she'd just finished reading back and forth across the surface of her desk. The contents of the note were the main reason why she hadn't even realized Aela had entered her office until the female werewolf was rasping her knuckles against the surface of her desk. "Madam Nox…are you still with us?"

"Yes." Nox nodded without turning towards Aela. "I'm fine. Just…preoccupied. Have all of the preparations been completed for our little venture?"

Sitting down, Aela nodded. "Yes ma'am. I've purchased several tents and the runic stones that you've requested. And I just received notice that they've arrived at the location you specified two days ago and are now just waiting to be installed. Fuel conversion has been a royal pain in arse. But the engines are accepting it. But…I…um…"

"You what? Aela?" Nox said flatly while turning so she could face the werewolf.

"I still think that you would be better off without Remus or myself on this voyage ma'am." Aela said after only a moment's hesitation. "This trip of yours, by your own admission, could last two months or possibly more. And even with the Wolfsbane potion…two werewolfs inside a confined space is a recipe for disaster."

Using the flat of her hand to stop the scroll from rolling, Nox looked off to the side off of her small office. "I appreciate your concern Aela. And if you and Remus feel the calling of the change we can always drop you two off on some empty planet until the urge has passed. But I need you both Aela. Not only for your added security for the children…but also because I am curious as to the effects leaving this planet will have on werewolves."

Aela started growling. "I am not a lab rat."

Turning back around, Nox fixed Aela with a glare that made the she-wolf freeze. "I never said that you were Aela. But lycanthropy is…unique. In all of my travels I've only encountered one disease that had the same type of effects as it. The rakghoul plague. But even then, the mutation was instantaneous and permeant. Although there was a rumor of a doctor who somehow managed to alter the plague enough in himself so that he could change at will. But the point is, I've never seen anything that been dictated by the position of a planets moon. And what if we learn that by leaving Earth you are no longer subjected to the change? Or perhaps you could even control it? Would that knowledge not be worth the few months of awkwardness and mild discomfort?

"Not to mention, you're probably the only other person on this planet besides myself and Harry who's actually able to fly the ship. And while I intend to teach the others how the ship works, an extra pilot is needed."

"Alright." Aela sighed, holding up her hand. "You've convinced me. That and the fact that you're paying me a small fortune doesn't hurt either."  
"Good." Nox smirked. "And don't worry. I made sure to order a sound proof tent for yourself and Remus. I never really realized that you werewolves hollowed as much as you do."

One of Aela's eyebrows rose nearly to her hairline. "Pot, kettle Nox. I swear that Tonks girl screams like a banshee when you're with her."

Laughing, Nox scooped up the scroll that she'd been rolling across her desk and tucked it into the folds of her robe. "I have a last minute errand that I need to take care of sooner rather than later." She said while rising to her feet. "I shouldn't be gone for longer than a week or two at most. Make sure that you take care of any last minute details for me."

"Of course Nox." Aela said, rising to her feet as well. "If I may ask, what's this last minute errand that has you so obviously distracted?"

After double checking that both her wand and her lightsaber were secured within their holsters, Nox opened one of the bottom drawers of her desk and pulled out a small pendant. "Just a lose end that needs to be tied up." She said before drawing her wand and touching it to the pendant. "Home."

* * *

Sitting at the half empty Gryffindor table, Harry absentmindedly nibbled at his breakfast while focusing on the Daily Prophet in his right hand. In truth, he wasn't really reading the rag at all. It was mostly complete rubbish anyway. And not to mention the paper, the paper was not-so-secretly owned by the Ministry of Magic. Case and point, there had been only one article in the paper about the attack on Hogsmead. Just one. And it hadn't even put a bad slant against the Ministry. It simply said that the dementors were chasing after Pettigrew and Lockhart through the streets of Hogsmead and there several unfortunate casualties. The families of whom were all generously granted large restitution amounts to keep their mouths shut.

Reaching out blindly, Harry picked up several pieces of toast and put them onto a plate before pushing the plate across the table just in time for Hermione to sit down across from him. "Thanks Harry." Hermione said, picking up a piece of toast and pulling out her text book for History of Magic. "You really should study Harry. Our exam is in four hours."

"If the class was actually worthwhile, I would study Hermione." Harry shot back while looking at her over the edge of his newspaper. "There's over twenty-five hundred years of recorded magical history in Britain alone. And in three years what have we studied? First year, the Goblin Wars. Second year, the Goblin Wars. And now in our third year what have we studied? The Goblin Wars. I swear, Binns is like broken recorded going around and around on the same track."

"Merlin Harry…no need to be rude." Hermione scoffed while taking a small bite of her toast and opening up her book.

Slowly, the rest of the students of Hogwarts began filing into the Great Hall for breakfast. Most copied Hermione's actions and opened a book as they sat down to try and get a bit of last minute studying in before their exams.

Feeling a familiar twinge in the Force, Harry moved slid over on the bench just enough to avoid the barreling form of Ginny. Who didn't even wait to be fully seated before scooping as much food onto her plate as possible with one hand, while her other held open a potions book. "Let me guess." Harry smirked while calmly turning the page. "You have your potions exam today. Probably in less than an hour or so."

"What was your first clue… _Master_?" Ginny snapped back as she managed to bit a piece of toast in half in one bite.

Deciding not to press it, Harry set his paper down and focused on his breakfast. Only to discover that Ginny had taken his plate as was currently eating what was left on it. "Hey!"

"Punishment for being a smart arse." Ginny smirked, picking up a piece of bacon from his plate and eating it with a wink thrown towards Hermione.

Just as Harry started to read an article he was actually interested in, a short little section on the recent decline of werewolf attacks over the past couple of years, the sound of a dozen screeching owls made him look up. Within the mass of owl's entering the Great Hall, he spotted his white familiar gliding gracefully down from the rafters. With a few quick beats of her wings, Hedwig came to a stop right in front of him before landing gracefully on the table.

"Morning Hedwig," he smiled, reaching out and gently rubbing the back of her head. "Did you have a nice flight?"

Hedwig barked once before hop-turning away from him and holding out her leg towards Hermione. Swallowing hard, Hermione reached out and carefully took the letter from his owl. "Thank you Hedwig." She said, giving Hedwig a light scratch on her chest before opening the letter.

Hedwig barked once more, before flapping her wings just enough so that she could land on Harry's shoulder. "So?" Harry asked, breaking off a piece of bacon and handing to his friend. "What did your parents say?"

Hermione's lip was clenched tightly between her teeth as her eyes moved down the letter. Of their small group, she was the only one who'd yet to receive her parent's permission to go on their little summer trip. At first her parents outright refused. But over the next few days Hermione had sent a letter a day to them practically begging them to let her go.

As she got to the end of the letter, Hermione let out a long sigh and dropped the letter. "They're letting me go." She said in obvious relief. "But I have to stay with them for the week before we leave and from whenever we get back until I come back to school. Oh, and I can't go anywhere next summer. And I have to return during each holiday next school year."

"At least you're coming with us Hermione." Harry said reaching across the table, which caused Hedwig to bark angrily at being disturbed, and grabbing her hand. "I promise you Hermione…this trip will be well worth it."

Folding up his newspaper, Harry pulled his plate back from Ginny and made a show of taking a large bite out of the largest piece of bacon on the plate. The bacon paused half way to his mouth as he was rocked slightly by a disturbance in the Force. Someone...or something had entered the castle.

Turning towards the doors of the Great Hall, Harry's brow furrowed as a squat woman dressed in a pink cardigan marched into the hall with two wizards…or maybe witches, who were garbed head to toe in strange grey cloaks that did a fair job in completely distorting his ability to identify them through the Force. Hedwig turned her head as well, barked once at the trio and then fly off of his shoulders and up into the rafters above him.

All of the noise in the hall quieted significantly as the students all turned to watch as the woman marched down the rows of students and towards the head table. "That's Dolores Umbridge." Ginny whispered to him as Dumbledore rose to his feet. "Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic…and an utter bitch according to my father. And those other two…they're-"

"Unspeakables." Hermione finished for her. "Why would the Senior Undersecretary be accompanied by Unspeakables instead of Hit Wizards or Aurors?"

"Because then Madam Bones would know." Harry answered, his mind running as he tried to figure out just what was going on but coming up blank.

"Good day Madam Umbridge." Dumbledore greeted. "I can only assume that you and your two Unspeakable companions are here to finally take the dementors away from my school."

Harry could practically feel the sense of satisfaction rolling off the woman as she stood before the teachers with her back to the students. ' _Something isn't right.'_ He thought staring at the back of the woman's head and trying his best to pierce whatever magic was keeping him from examining the two Unspeakables. ' _If she's here to take the dementors away…then she shouldn't be this happy.'_

"Of course Headmaster. As the Ministry hoped, the dementors have kept Peter Pettigrew and Gilderoy Lockhart from trying to enter Hogwarts during the school year." Umbridge said in a sickly sweet voice. "But I am also here to inform you of a new Educational Decree that was just recently signed into law."

Making a grand showing of pulling out a scroll from her hand bag, Umbridge unrolled the parchment and cleared her voice loudly before speaking so that everyone in the hall could hear her. "In accordance with the Ministry of Magic Educational Decree Number 21, no registered dark creatures of any noted level are allowed to hold the position of professor, assistant professor, or any other position within the school of Hogwarts. Which means…Remus Lupin. As a registered werewolf you must hereby vacate premises immediately. Any refusal or hesitation on your part, and the two Unspeakables with me will arrest you and throw you in Azkaban for violation of a Ministry edict."

"That is completely unfair!"

Everyone in the great hall turned towards the outcry, and found Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff up on his feet. "Mr. Diggory?" Umbridge blinked after turning around and seeing who had shouted at her. "What are you-"

"I thought that I was quite clear Madam Undersecretary." Cedric said clearly. "Professor Lupin is without a doubt the best Defense Professor that Hogwarts has had since I began here. I'm sure I learned more in this one year from him than I did from the previous five combined."

Umbridge's eyes narrowed as she glared at Cedric. "I expected wizard of your linage to understand the dangers of dark creatures Mr. Diggory. Obviously you must still be in shook from learning that your Defense Professor is a dark creature-"

"That's complete rubbish." This time it was Penelope Clearwater of Ravenclaw that rose to her feet. "Just about every fifth, sixth, and seventh year Ravenclaw knew that he was werewolf. As did many of the fifth, sixth, and seventh years from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and even some of the Slytherin's knew. Especially after Professor Snape assigned everyone a twelve-inch essay on identifying a werewolf when they are and are not transformed by the moon. We just didn't care. He never harmed any student in the castle. And as Cedric said, he's without a doubt the best Defense professor we've ever had!"

The noise in the Great Hall began to rise as just about every other student in the Hall got to their feet and started yelling their support for Remus. But as the students stood up in support of their professor, Harry stayed seated with his eyes firmly on Remus. His father's friend was completely awe struck at the support that he was being shown. But, he also looked resigned.

Rising to his feet, Remus raised his hand to quiet the students down. "I appreciate all of your support. I truly do. And teaching all of you for the past year has been a dream come true for me." Remus said sadly. "But the law is the law, however unfavorable or unjust it might be. And I would rather not spend the rest of my days rotting in a cell in Azkaban. So…in compliance with _our_ Ministries law…I hereby step down and will leave Hogwarts at the end of the semester-"

"No, you will leave now." Umbridge countered sweetly. But Harry could sense the seething rage that she was just barely managing to hold in check. "The Educational Decree is in effect as we speak. The only reason you haven't been arrested for violating it is because our gracious Minister order me to allow you the chance to leave the school immediately. If you have personal things here they can be sent. But you will be leaving now. Or else-"  
Umbridge's words were cut off abruptly as a food missile comprised entirely of eggs splashed against the side of her face. The entire hall gasped as the Undersecretary reached up with a shaking hand and pulled a piece of egg off of her face. "Who threw that!?" Umbridge shouted, turning towards the student body.

The only response was small first year Hufflepuff who snickered a little too loudly. Then another snicker came from the Gryffindor table. The snickering only increased from that point on and soon the entire hall was laughing at the enraged woman. "Stop laughing!" Umbridge shouted as she stomped her foot. "I am the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic! And I demand to know who threw-"

This time a missile of eggs, jam, and bacon collided with the top of her head leaving her completely covered. As the entire Great Hall laughed ever louder, Harry discreetly waved his hand creating another food missile. This time from the Slytherin table. "You little beasts!" Umbridge shouted drawing her wand and pointing it at the students. "I want the one who threw that right now or you will all face the consequences of-"

"That would be very ill-advised Madam Umbridge."

The entire hall had gone dead silent as Dumbledore, who'd somehow managed to get across the table, had his wand pointed right at the back of Umbridge's head. The two Unspeakables both turned and pulled their wands, only to be met with the wand of every professor present in the hall. The look in Dumbledore's eyes actually drew Harry up short. He knew that the man was powerful. But his eyes in that moment…the old seemingly idiotic Headmaster was gone. And Harry could suddenly understand why Voldemort was said to have actually feared the Headmaster.

"Unfortunately, I am unable to stop you from dismissing my best Defense Professor in over a decade." Dumbledore said, his voice completely flat. "But threatening my students over a simple prank…that is something that I can and will put a stop to."

Umbridge had gone completely pale and the two Unspeakables that were flanking her were casting nervous glances between one another. "I – I am the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magi-"

"And you will be leaving now Dolores." Dumbledore cut her off. "Despite my objection to this…Remus will be leaving the Hogwarts before the day is out."

The Undersecretary's hand was shaking almost violently. "Good." She said sheathing her wand quickly. "See should he still be here come nightfall…I will have him arrested."

Not a single word was uttered as Umbridge, mustering as much dignity as she could, raised her head proceeded to march out of the Great Hall with her two Unspeakables hurrying along behind her.

"Fifty points to both Mr. Diggory and Ms. Clearwater." Dumbledore announced loudly just before Umbridge crossed the threshold of the Great Hall. "For standing up for what was right, rather than what was easy."

Umbridge stopped only momentarily and turned back around, her lips pressed tightly together. Just as it looked like she was about say something, a white glob fell down from the rafters and landed right on top of her head.

The laughter in the Great Hall returned with a vengeance as Umbridge reached up and tried, in vain, to whip away the owl shite that'd just landed on top of her head, curtsey of Hedwig.

With one last angry huff, Umbridge turned on her heel and marched angrily out of the Great Hall and towards the exit of the castle.

As the laughter in the hall died down, a shy cough drew the attention of the students back to the front of the hall. Remus was standing next to Dumbledore, awkwardly shifting his weight back and forth from one foot to the other. "I – I'm not one for grand speeches or anything like that." Remus started, taking his time to look over the assembly of students before continuing. "But I just wanted to say thank you. To all of you. And that I wish all of you good fortune in your future. And should any of you have questions for me…I am but an owl away."

Every student, save for a select few Slytherins, rose to their feet as Remus walked through the Great Hall and towards the exit. As he drew close, Harry made to follow him. But Remus waved him off with the slightest movement of his hand. So instead of following like he wanted, Harry stood with the rest of his fellow students in silent respect as their Professor walked out of the Great Hall and towards the steps leading out of the castle.

"First period of the day is about to begin." Dumbledore announce loudly once Remus was out of sight. "For those of you who have exams please report to your classes. Everyone else may remain behind to continue studying."

Sitting back down in his seat, Harry sent a glare in the direction of the exit. Unfortunately, Remus's dismissal wasn't necessarily unexpected. Even Remus knew that he more than likely wouldn't last longer than the year. Especially after Snape assigned his little essay.

But still, Umbridge could've gone directly to the Headmaster and had Remus dismissed quietly. Instead she'd made the dismissal as public as possible. Possibly to gain more support for the Ministry by keeping a so-called 'dark creature' away from children. But more than likely…it was probably because Umbridge just wanted to humiliate Remus.

He'd heard enough stories from his mother, Sirius, Amelia, and even Lord Greengrass about the Senior Undersecretary. She had a prejudice against anything and anyone who wasn't a pureblood that was almost legendary. According to Amelia, the only reason she wasn't currently behind bars was because she'd never technically done anything that was illegal. That and the fact that for some reason Fudge supported her almost completely.

' _You've just made a very short list Umbridge.'_

* * *

Standing on the balcony in his office, Dumbledore watch as the Hogwarts express slowly disappeared beyond the horizon. And for the first time in three years, Dumbledore felt himself smiling as he watched the train go. For the first time in three years, and despite the constant threat of the dementors surrounding his school, no serious attacks or injuries had occurred during the year. Save of course for the disaster that was Hogsmead. But the responsibility for that mess landed solely with the Minister of Magic himself. A mess that Fudge was still trying, and for the most part failing, to clean up.

The only other truly downside to the year was that he'd once again lost his Defense Professor. Perhaps his best, and most popular, Professor for that position ever. But unfortunately there was little he could do about it. Ministry Educational Decrees where seldom used. But when they were, they were absolute. The response from Mr. Diggory was unexpected…but not unwelcome. It warmed his heart slightly to see that most of his students didn't hold to the dogma of the Ministry. He was slightly disappointed the young Harry did not jump to Remus's defense. But that was mostly likely because Mr. Diggory had beaten him to it.

Sighing, Dumbledore moved back across his office before dropping down heavily into his chair. He knew the moment he drew his wand on the Undersecretary that there would be consequences. Despite her obvious prejudices, Dolores still had the Minister's ear. But thankfully, Fudge at least had enough political sense not to go after him over what had happened.

Going after a Headmaster for defending his students against someone who drew their wand on them, regardless of the fact that said person was a high ranking government official, was not the type of press that Fudge needed. Especially after failing to catch both Lockhart and Pettigrew after nearly a year.

Rising from his desk, Dumbledore made his way across his office towards the large pensieve bowl and the dozens of memories he had stored around it. Reaching out he deftly picked out two of the vials and held them in his hand. Sybill had unexpectedly given out not one, but two prophecies this year. Her first since he'd interviewed her all those years ago. The first prophecy had been given to Ms. Lavender Brown when she stayed after class one day to ask Sybill a few questions. It was unfortunate that he had to oblivate the poor girl. But children should not bear the burden of knowing a true prophecy.

Opening the cork on the first vial, he dumped its contents into the pensieve and twirled the liquid once with his wand. The image of Sybill rose from the liquids surface, her eyes staring off unfocused as she spoke. " _It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant, chained for a year, yet broken free shall find and rejoin his Master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid. Greater and more terrible than ever before. For his Voice shall bring death and destruction to the world. Tonight…before midnight…the servant will…rejoin his Master."_

Ending the memory, Dumbledore leaned back on his heel as he rubbed his beard. This was perhaps one of the more straightforward prophecies that he'd ever known. The Dark Lord was obviously Riddle. And his servant was Pettigrew, as he was the only one who was chained for a year before breaking free. And with Peter's aid…Riddle would rise again. Far more powerful and dangerous than ever.

Using his wand to guide the memory back into its jar, Dumbledore upended the second prophecy into the pensieve. This one was not straightforward, and it was pure luck that he'd been alone with Sybill when she'd given it. But what was truly strange was that it occurred right after Harry had fainted.

Twirling the liquid once, the image of Sybill once again rose from its surface. " _The Darkness has moved and the Light is shattered. The One born of power has fallen. Only the reach of the reformed Pillar has saved the fragments that remain. Soon the Chosen shall fly, his six wings soon completed. And with his flight shall dark and light be joined as one. The Chosen must fly and find the Children. Should the Chosen fail…then the fragments shall be lost. And the power shall forever be cast in the dark shadow of the One. The Darkness has moved…and the Light is shattered…"_

Stopping the memory, Dumbledore drew it back into its vial before placing both prophecies back on their respective shelves. This prophecy made absolutely no sense. He could decipher that the chosen one that was spoken of was Harry, given its correlation to the first prophecy Sybill had spoken to him. But the Pillar…that had to mean Nox. But what did it mean by reformed? Has she possible come back to the light? No…that wasn't possible. He'd know if she'd come back to the light. And what of this 'One' and the 'Children'. Could the 'One' be referring to Riddle? If so…then who were the 'Children'?

Sighing, he turned his back on his pensieve and made his way back to his desk. Unfortunately, he didn't really have the time to ponder this strange prophecy at the moment. Picking up one of the many scrolls from his desk, he unrolled it and read its contents again. The French and Bulgarian Ministries had accepted his proposal. And Fudge, desperate for the good pressed, had agreed to his proposal as well. ' _We need allies.'_ Dumbledore thought looking back over the horizon outside of this office. ' _Now more than ever.'_

* * *

Fumbling with the key's to his apartment, Jon Smith fought a careful balancing act as he balance his day's groceries in one arm while carefully turning the key into his apartment door with his free hand. Hearing the door click open, Jon pushed the door open with his shoulder and entered his one-bedroom apartment.

After kicking his door shut, he turned and flipped the light switch right next to the door, and cursed when nothing happened. "Shit." Jon cursed as he pressed his hand to the wall and used it as a guide as he slowly fumbled his way down the dark hallway towards his kitchen.

Running his hand up and down the wall he felt for the switch. Finding the switch he flipped it on, and nothing happened. "Fucking land lord." Jon cursed as he set his groceries down on the counter and pulling out the flashlight that he kept in one of the drawers. "No matter how many times I complain…that ass hole still insists that there is nothing wrong with the electricity in this fucking place. What a joke."

After nearly tripping over his couch, Jon managed to find the fuse box in his apartment. Opening the panel he cursed as he saw that all of the breakers were tripped. "Well…what the hell could've cause that?" He wondered as he started flipping the breakers back on, causing the lights in both his entryway and kitchen come to life.

"You made three mistakes Jon Smith…or should I call you Gilderoy Lockhart?"

Jon, or Gilderoy as he was more correctly known, went completely stock still as he heard the voice coming from behind him. ' _No.'_ He cursed. ' _It…it can't be. I'm in bloody fucking America! I've changed my name. Changed my hair style. Even grew a bloody beard. She couldn't have tracked me here!'_

But as he slowly turned around, his heart leapt into his throat as his stomach dropped and the blood drained from his face. There, sitting on his patch worked couch and sipping a glass of his finest, and last, red wine was none other than Madam Ziri Nox, the mother to Harry Potter.

"I – I – who are you?" Jon – Gilderoy asked nervously. "Y – You're breaking and entering ma'am. You need to leave now before I call the police."

One delicate eyebrow rose as Nox took another slow sip from her wine. "Drop the act Gilderoy. It's insulting."

Downing the rest of her glass, Nox rose to her feet making Gilderoy take a step back as his eyes flickered towards the small desk he had near his kitchen. The same desk that he'd hidden his wand and emergency portkey in. ' _That's it Gilderoy. One step at a time. Not too fast. Just inch over towards the desk.'_ "What do you want Nox?" Gilderoy asked inching towards the desk. "I don't see any Aurors…so I assume that we can work something out. I can be…most accommodating to any desire you might have Madam."

Gilderoy had trouble keeping his thoughts straight at his own words and their implications. There was no doubt about it…Nox was a vision of perfection. Her piercing green eyes. Her long lush black hair hung freely across her shoulders and down her back. Her porcelain like skin. The way her close hugged her curves so closely. Yes…this was a woman he'd be willing to do just about anything for.

Nox though, didn't even appear to be listening to him. "As I said Gilderoy…you made three critical mistakes. First, you targeted my son in one of your little fame schemes."

"No harm would've come to your son!" Gilderoy shouted, losing himself for a moment. "We could've been partners…but he spurned me. But despite that…I never harmed a single hair on that boys head!"

Nox still didn't appear to be listening to him, or even paying attention to him as stared down into the empty fireplace in his apartment. "Your second mistake was staying so close to the Gringotts Bank that you emptied your vault from. Now while the goblins won't give away such details to any Ministry…I've recently come into a sort of alliance with the goblins. And because of this alliance, the goblins gladly gave me every little detail about where you emptied your vault. After I had that piece of information, all I needed to do was come here and search for your magical presence. Which honestly…wasn't all that difficult."

Gilderoy's hands started to shake violently as Nox flicked her left hand causing her wand to fall out from her sleeve. "But your last mistake is the one that is truly going to cost you Gilderoy."

Lunging for his desk, Gilderoy ripped open the compartment where he'd stashed his wand and portkey…and found it empty. "You're last mistake was not having your wand or your best means of escape on your person at all times."

In a last ditch effort Gilderoy tried to apparate out of his apartment. His body jerked…but otherwise didn't move. ' _Anti-apparation ward…Merlin when did she set that up? And why didn't I sense it?'_

Turning back around slowly, Gilderoy's heart sank even further as he saw Nox casually twirling _his_ wand between the fingers of her right hand. "Hehe…well then." Gilderoy swallowed standing straighter. "A lot of amusing things just happened now. Well…I – uh…my offer is sincere Madam Nox. If you require reparations for the – uh – unfortunate incident that occurred last year I can guarantee you that I have quite a substantial sum that-"

Red hot pain shot through Gilderoy's leg, causing him to yell out in agony as he fell to the floor clutch at his right leg. Or at least the cauterized stump that used to be his right leg. "Do not insult me Gilderoy." Fear, unlike anything he'd ever known before, raced through him as he looked up into her eyes. They were no longer green. They were bright yellow. "Despite my recent bout of charity…part of me is still the one Darth Nox. A Dark Lord of the Sith. And you…you tried to frame my son for attacking the students of Hogwarts. You kidnapped my son's apprentice. And then in the end you tried to obliviate my son! Do you really think that a few pieces of metal would absolve you of what you've done?!"

Gilderoy tried to respond, but Nox flicked her wand at him again. A rope made of pure fire slashed outwards from the tip of her wand, striking him across the chest and leaving a long burnt scar in its wake. "Please!" Gilderoy begged in agony while trying to back away from her. "Please! Forgive me! I'm a pathetic man! Please…please I'll do whatever you want!"

The fire retracted back into Nox's wand as the woman knelt down next to him. "You'll do whatever I want hmm?"

"Yes!" Gilderoy cried. "Please…I'll do whatever you want! Just name it!"

Nox slowly grinned as she placed the tip of her wand against his forehead. "I want you to scream for me Gilderoy…nice and loud. _Crucio!"_

And scream he did. For hours Nox inflicted horrors unrivaled upon the fraud that dared try and harm her son. Gilderoy screamed. He cried. He begged. Even after his larynx was destroyed and he could no longer form complete sounds he still gurgled.

After nearly four hours of unending pain, Nox finally sat back down in her seat and poured herself another glass of wine as she observed the mass of flesh lying on the floor. For at that point…that was all that was left of Gilderoy Lockhart. All of the man's limbs had been severed from his body. His face was bloodied and broken beyond recognition. His eyes and tongue gorged out of his head. Every rib in his chest was broken. Every internal organ save for his heart and lungs were ruptured. The only indication that the pile of flesh was even still alive was the uneven rise and fall of its chest.

"I need to thank you Gilderoy." Nox said, picking up a random blanket from his couch to wipe the blood off of her hands. "You see…it wasn't too long ago that I would've tortured someone like this for days for simply looking at me wrong. Ashara would of course disapprove of my actions…but she never really tried to stop me. But the point is…I took great pleasure in torturing my victims. Their screams were like the finest symphony to my ears. But with you…I felt nothing."

Dropping the blanket, she picked up her wine glass and took a slight sip before standing and moving so she was next to the body. "Now don't get me wrong. I did feel some satisfaction in giving you exactly what you deserved. But I felt none of the rush or the pleasure I used to feel before whenever I did this to others. So I guess…I owe you my thanks for allowing me to see that I truly have changed."

Downing the last of the wine, she threw the glass over her shoulder before flicking her right wrist off to the side and drawing her lightsaber. "And as a gesture of my gratitude…I will end you suffering swiftly."

Her lightsaber came to life, illuminating the room in a red glow as the blade pierce through Gilderoy's chest and into his heart. Killing him instantly.

Retracting her lightsaber back into its holster, Nox turned her back on the corpse and headed for the door. Just as she grabbed the door handle, she conjured a small fireball off the tip of her wand and threw it at the corpse. The moment the flame touched the body it spread and reduced it to ash within seconds before spreading its flames onto the carpet.

Closing the door to the apartment, Nox walked down the hallway while simultaneously using the Force to take down the various wards she'd put in place. As she neared the exit, she reached out and yanked down on the fire alarm before turning on her heel and apparating out of the building.

* * *

With his mind focused almost completely on the upcoming trip, the last week of school as well as the first week of summer flew by for Harry. For the first time that he could actually remember, he was going to fly on the same ship that his mother had come to this planet on. The same ship that she healed him on when he was but an infant. The same ship that he'd only ever seen grounded in its storage hanger. So to say that he was excited was more than a bit of an understatement.

But unfortunately, at the moment he was stuck sitting one of the couches in the Grimmuald Place sitting room and waiting for the last of his friends to arrive while all around him his friends and their parents mingled amongst one another.

Hermione and her parents were actually the first to arrive, and they were the only ones that actually needed to be escorted in by Sirius as they were entering from the street instead of through the floo system. The Daphne and her family were next to arrive with Tracey and her father in toe. And right after they'd arrived the floo flared to life again allowing Amelia, Susan, Hannah and her parents to come through. Which then left only one family unaccounted for.

Harry nearly jumped from his seat when a hand gently found its way onto his knee. "Calm down Harry. I'm sure that there is a good reason why they're late this time."

"They bloody well better Daphne." Harry cursed, and then winced at his own tone. "Sorry. I'm just…"

"Excited?" Daphne asked rhetorically. "I couldn't tell."

Hearing the floo come to life, Harry looked up just in time to see Arthur and Molly escort Ron and Ginny in. "I apologize for our tardy, Madam Nox." Arthur apologized, to his mother the moment he was clear of the floo.

"No worries Arthur." His mother said, waving off Arthur's apology. "We still have some time until the portkey activates. And while we're waiting, Sirius, if you would please."

Levitating a large crate up onto one of the tables, Sirius lifted the lid off of it. Reaching into the crate, Sirius pulled out a large hand held mirror before passing it off to Dan and Emma Granger. "These are basically the wizarding equivalent to a one way muggle cell phone." Sirius explained as he handed of another to Tracey's father. "Your kids will have the corresponding mirror. And all that you need to do is hold the mirror in your hand and say the name of the person you wish to contact and their mirror will vibrate. Once they pick their mirror up the connection will be made and you'll be able to talk to one another through the mirror."

"Will this work even with us Mr. Black?" Dan Granger asked while holding the mirror up to eye level. "Emma and I don't have a magical bone in our bodies."

"It'll work." Sirius nodded. "I had to dust off some of my old runic books. But I managed to inscribe your mirror with a rune that will allow you two to use it despite your lack of magic."

Dan and Emma both looked down at the mirror in awe for a second before Dan reached out his hand towards Sirius. "Thank you Mr. Black."

"Sirius, please." Sirius shot back taking the offered hand. "Mr. Black reminds me too much of my father. And trust me…the world is much better off without him around."

"So, any clue as to where you're going to be taking our children for the summer?" Richard Davies, Tracey's father, asked lightly.

"Only with an Unbreakable Vow Richard." His mother quipped. "Now everyone put your luggage into the center of the room. Remus, if you would."

Once everyone had piled their luggage into the center of the room, Remus pulled out his wand and pointed it at the pile. The dozen pieces of luggage all shrunk before their eyes until they were all just slightly bigger than a closed fist. Remus then guided the smaller pieces of luggage into his own briefcase, which he then shrunk down and placed into his pocket.

After Remus had shrunken and pocket their luggage, his mother pulled out a coiled piece of white rope that she'd spent most of the morning turning into a portkey. "This portkey will take us to our first destination. Say your goodbyes and we'll be on our way."

Each of Harry's friends went towards their parents and embraced them. He vaguely heard Molly Weasely saying something to Ron about making sure to mind his manners and to not embarrass his sister. Once everyone had said their goodbyes, his friends formed a tight circle with himself, his mother, Tonks, Remus, and Aela. Taking the rope from his mother, he passed it on to Ginny next to him.

Once everyone had a hand on the portkey, his mother drew her wand and pressed it against the rope. "We'll be back before the end of summer. Home."

Harry felt the all too familiar jerking of his naval as the portkey activated. The world around them blurred into incoherent colors as the portkey spun them around and around. Within seconds of activating the portkey stopped and Harry had just barely enough time to get his feet situated correctly before they came into contact with solid ground.

Looking around he saw that his mother, Remus, Aela, and Tonks were all completely fine. His friends that'd grown up in a wizarding family were also fine. But Hermione…Hermione was anything but fine. His bookworm friend was bent over with her hands on her knees and in the process of emptying her stomach. "Holy…Merlin." Hermione coughed, casting a thankful glance at Remus as he conjured a handkerchiefs and handing it to her. "Are portkeys always so…rough?"

"It depends on the distance that you're traveling." Remus explained as he vanished the remnants of Hermione's breakfast. "And in this case…we traveled a pretty fair distance. Experience also factors into it."

"Holy bloody hell!" Ron gasped as he finally got a good look around. "Who – who lived there!?"

Harry didn't have to turn around to know that Ron was currently gawking at the large two story stone worked house that his mother had raised him in. "This is the house that I grew up in." Harry said turning around and staring at the house which held so many fond memories. "Before my mother and I returned to Britain and took up residence with Sirius."

"But we will not be staying here for long." His mother announced as she started walking towards the house. "This is merely our transition point. From here on out we will be taking a…unconventional form of transportation."

"It's not another portkey…is it?" Hermione asked as she finished whipping her mouth with the handkerchief.

"No." Harry answered, shaking his head. "You don't have to worry about that Hermione. We won't be taking a portkey again until we get back at the end of summer."

As they stepped up onto the steps leading to the front door, his mother pulled out her wand and touched it to the door in three seemingly random places. "A little extra security I added while you were at school Harry." His mother explained as the door glowed blue for an instant before opening on its own.

The inside of the house was just as sparsely furnished as Harry remembered. The only difference was that there were now thin white sheets covering the few pieces of furniture in the house to protect them from dust. "This way children." His mother called out as she led them through the foyer and around to the backside of the double staircase that led up to the second floor.

Coming to a stop near the back of the stair case, Nox slid her wand back into its holster and pressed her hand against a section of the wall. The sound of gears grinding against one another echoed from behind the wall as she disengaged to Force lock that was on the hidden panel. "Stay close everyone." His mother announced, pulling out her wand and conjuring a small orb of light. "The stairs are fairly steep."

Following his mother, the group made their way down the spiraling stair case with Remus, who'd also conjured a sphere of light, coming down last. "Is this some kind of underground train like they have at Gringotts?" Hannah asked as the stairs came to an end, leading them into a large open, dark, cavern. "And – and what kind of floor is this?"

Everyone stopped and stared down at their feet. "It's…its metal." Ginny stated after stairing down and stomping twice on the metal grate beneath their feet. "What's in here? The light isn't bright enough to see."

Turing around, Nox guided the small orb so that it was now floating overhead. "This is the point of no return children." She said, her voice turning deadly serious. "Any of you who wish to back out, Remus will guide you back upstairs and provide you with a portkey so you may return home. Those who wish to stay…raise your wands."

After only a brief exchange of curious looks, everyone, including Harry, Remus, Aela and Tonks raised their wands. "I, your name. Do vow on my magic to say nothing, either voluntarily or involuntarily, about what I am about to see, hear and experience until Ziri Nox releases me from my vow."

Raising his wand, Harry repeated the vow word for word with everyone else. "I, Harry James Potter. Do hereby vow on my magic to say nothing, either voluntarily or involuntarily, about what I am about to see, hear and experience until Ziri Nox releases me from my vow."

"Good." His mother nodded before waving her hand off towards the side. "This ladies and gentlemen…is our next form of transportation."

One row at a time, the ceiling lights within the underground warehouse came to life. "Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed taking a small step back. "This…this is totally wicked!"

Smiling, Harry gazed fondly at the _Ashara._ He'd had the same reaction the first time his mother had shown it to him. When he was actually old enough to remember that is. Glancing back at his friends, he saw that all of them were completely awe struck by what they were seeing. Even Daphne, Susan and Astoria who already knew about the ship were speechless as they stared at it.

"Is…is this a muggle aeroplane?" Ginny breathed as she stared at the ship in awe.

"Airplanes Ginny. And no." Hermione answered licking her lips. "This…this isn't anything like normal airplanes. It…it doesn't have any wings."

Stepping up to the underside of the _Ashara_ , Luna raised her hand and ran it along the ships cold metal surface. "Is this what you used to sail the stars before you found Harry, Madam Nox?"

There were only a few times that Harry could count when he'd seen his mother genuinely surprised. And Luna just added another one to that total. Walking up to Luna, his mother lightly patted the young girl on the shoulder while giving her a slight smirk. "I see that Harry's analysis of you was entirely correct, little seer. I will answer that soon enough. But at the moment we are on a delicate timetable. So everyone file on in."

Leading them around towards the back of the ship, his mother lowered the boarding ramp and walked up into the ship. "Aela, Nymph." She said once inside. "Get the ship ready to take off."

"Yes ma'am."

"…stop calling me that…at least in front of the kids."

"But it's far too much fun to rile you up Nymph." Nox smirked, making everyone in the room chuckle slightly as Tonks's hair turned beat red before she could make a hasty retreat. "Now, if you'll all follow me, I'll show you where you'll be staying during this little excursion."

"This…this plane is so strange." Hermione said, licking her lips.

"Yeah…strange." Tracey mimicked, her eyes staring hard at one of the control panels they passed as Nox led them through the interior of the ship. "Um…it's okay if we touch things right? We've always been told that magic and muggle elec…electricity? Yes, electricity. We always heard that they just don't agree with one another."

"And about fifty to a hundred years ago you would've been right." His mother nodded. "But not anymore. Now here is where you all will be staying."

Everyone save for Harry jumped slightly as the door in front of them rose up into the ceiling after Nox pressed down on the small control panel next to it. The crew rooms had been emptied of everything that used to be in them. And in their place were two tents.

"Wizarding tents? That's brilliant." Hannah remarked staring at the two tents.

Nodding, his mother pointing towards one tent and then the other. "Exactly Hannah. You girls will be staying in one tent, while Harry and Ron will be staying in the other. Remus, Aela, Tonks and I are in similar tents in the room across from this one. Now come along. None of you are going to want to miss what's going to happen next."

Sharing a quick glance with Daphne and Susan, Harry winked at his two fellow apprentices before following his mother towards the cockpit. Aela was sitting in one of the front two seats while Tonks was sitting in the other. Walking up to the two women, his mother came to a stop directly behind Tonks. "Are we ready to depart?"

Both women nodded. "Yes." Aela said, reaching out and pressing several buttons in quick succession. "The engines are taking to the refined fuel and all of the runes are set. We're officially invisible to the naked eye and all forms of radar."

"Good." His mother nodded, before reaching out and placing both hands onto Tonks's shoulders. "Relax Tonks. We'll be fine. Just think of the reward that I'm going to be giving you later."

"Merlin and Morgana Nox." Tonks gasped, her hair turning a bright shade of red. "Not in front of the kids!"

Harry, who by now was used to the playful banter between his mother and Tonks, just shook his head. "Mother…"

"Fine." Nox huffed, rolling back onto her heels. "You two are no fun. Aela, retract the room and take us out. The rest of you might want to take a seat and hold onto something."

Nodding, Aela tapped several controls in quick succession. The ship beneath their feet rumbled for a second sending everyone save for Harry and his mother scrambling to get into a seat. Although most of them just ended up sitting down on the floor and holding onto whatever they could.

"Madam Nox." Hermione called out cautiously as sunlight began to fill the dark void outside the cockpits window. "What kind of airplane is this?!"

Turing, his mother shot Hermione a sly grin. "My dear girl…whoever said anything about this being an 'airplane'?"

Harry felt the ship shudder briefly beneath his feet before the front viewport tilted upwards towards the sky. And then they were fly upwards towards the clouds faster than any broom could possible hope to travel. Soon they were flying through the clouds and the once bright blue sky steadily darkened till it was black.

"How…how high are we?" Ron breathed looking out the window. "And why is the sky black?"

"Because…because we're in space Ron." Hermione breathed before blinking. Casting a quick glance towards Luna, Hermione's eyes widened in sudden understanding before snapping back towards Nox. "What Luna said…she wasn't lying was she? You truly did sail the stars before finding Harry!"

Harry's mother chuckled as she turned around so she could face Hermione. "Your mind is indeed sharp Hermione."

"We just missed something here, didn't we?" Hannah said looking around.

Licking her lips, Hermione nodded towards his mother. "Madam Nox…she wasn't born on Earth."

"What?!" Everyone who hadn't already known the truth shouted.

"My mother wasn't born on Earth." Harry reiterated. "In fact, the light of the star she was born under won't even reach Earth for another million years or so."

"That's…that's impossible!" Ron gasped.

Shaking her head, Nox turned back towards Tonks and Aela. "I suppose seeing is believing. Girls, if you would turn us around for a moment."

Nodding, Aela began pressing another sequence of buttons. The stars outside began to move as the ship turned. Everyone save for Harry and Nox shot up to their feet and gasped as the ship turned around fully and they were treated with the sight of Earth. "Congratulations boys and girls." Nox smirked. "You are all officially the first witches and wizards in history to truly leave Earth."

Ginny was the first to break out of her shock. Turning, she smacked Harry on the shoulder with the back of her hand. "Why did you lie to us!?"

The hurt in Ginny's voice tore at Harry. But before he could defend himself, Luna spoke up. "He didn't lie to us Ginny." She said, tilting her head to the side as she watched Earth. "He just didn't tell us everything because we weren't ready to know yet."

Nox stared at Luna for several long moments before shaking her head and turning back to Aela and Tonks. "Little seer…you are indeed a marvel. Aela, Tonks. Set a course for the location I specified."

"Already done." Aela said as the ship turned away from Earth. Aela stiffened as the ship turned around fully and they were greeted by the sight of the moon.

"How are you feeling Aela." His mother asked. He hadn't noticed it before, but his mother had been standing in a way that would allow her to draw her lightsaber and strike down both Remus and Aela should she need too.

"I feel…fine." Aela said as she stared at the moon in wonder.

"Same here." Remus confirmed, his voice laced with the same awe.

"Good." Nox nodded as the ship passed by the moon. "Then let us get underway."

"Yeah." Aela breathed reaching forward once more. "Coordinates are locked in. Let's just hope this place that you picked is still around when we get there. Entering hyperspace in three…two…one."

The ship lurched as the stars outside the window elongated for the briefest of moments before narrowing into a long spiraling blue tunnel. "We…oh Merlin." Hermione breathed, dropping down heavily into the seat behind her. "We're…we're traveling faster than light! That…that's impossible!"

"As I'm sure Harry has told you my dear, something is only impossible if you believe it to be so." Turning, Nox motioned for everyone to follow her. "Now let's go back into the galley and have a seat. I'm sure that you all have a lot of questions that you want to ask."

As they all turned to follow his mother, most of still mildly in shock over the revelations, Harry nudge Hermione who was staring curiously at her hand. "What's up?"

Hermione blinked, then stared at him. "What's up? We're in space Harry! Your adoptive mother is an alien! And you ask me 'what's up'? What do you think is up? And why aren't we floating? There shouldn't be any gravity on this ship!"

"Wait…what?" Tracey asked, stopping in her tracks which in turn pulled everyone else save for his mother up short. "Why would we be floating?"

"Because we are no longer within Earth's gravity." Daphne explained, drawing more than a few curious looks. "There is no gravity in space. The only reason the Earth stays within orbit around the sun is because it is within the suns gravitational pull due to the suns mass which keeps Earth and the other planets around it. And the mass of the Earth also creates a gravitational pull which keeps our feet firmly planted on the ground."

There were more than a few dropped jaws around the room as Daphne finished her explanation. "Daphne…" Tracey said blinking. "Where did you…"

"Muggle science books." Susan shrugged. "It was one of Master Nox's requirements in order for us to become her apprentices. We had to learn muggle science, mathematics and anything else that she deemed useful. I'm pretty sure that she's going to be continuing those lessons with all of you while we're traveling. So you better get used to it."

"We'll have time for all of that later." Harry said, brining everyone's attention back. "My mother promised you all answers. And I'm pretty sure of just how she's going to go about that. So let's go. You really, really, don't want to keep my mother waiting for you."

By the time Harry and the others caught up to his mother, she was in the commissary area of the ship and had a large stone bowl laid out on the table. "Whoa," Hannah breathed looking at the bowl. "That's a pensieve!"

"Very astute Hannah." His mother nodded, running a finger along the edge of the bowl. "The first thing you need to understand is that everything that Harry has told you so far is true. The Jedi and the Sith are both very real. And the galaxy at large is a very dangerous place. Especially now with a Sith Emperor controlling what used to be the Galactic Republic. And one point that I have to stress is that sooner or later the Sith will come for Earth. And they will not be bringing peace. They will be coming with the intent to subjugate Earth and all of its citizens."

Nox's words struck everyone silent. "Why?" Hermione asked. "We…Earth doesn't have technology to pose a threat! Why would they attack us?"

His mother merely shrugged. "Sith don't need a reason to attack someone Hermione. But in the case of Earth, well, there is in fact a reason. Tell me, how many magicals do you think inhabit Earth at this moment?"

All of the kids, including Harry, glanced at one another. As far as any of them were aware…there wasn't really a true census of the magical world. At least not like they had in the muggle world. "A couple million?" Hermione guessed.

"You're not too far off the mark Hermione." His mother nodded. "I've done quite a bit of study over the past half-decade. And everything I've seen has led me to believe that zero-point-one percent of Earth's population are magical. Now considering that there are roughly six to seven billion people on Earth, which means that there are roughly six to seven million magicals."

Picking the bowl up off of the table, his mother pressed down on one of the control panels lining the edge of the table. A hologram sprung to life above the table's surface, which made more than one gasp in awe, showing a map of the galaxy. "This," his mother indicated as roughly just under half of the galaxy was highlighted. "Is what you can consider to be the 'known' galaxy according to the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic. But even at the height of their power, the Sith and the Jedi barely number three-hundred thousand. A single Sith or Jedi was said to be able to turn the tides of a battle. If someone controlled six million Force sensitives-"

"They could control everything." Hermione breathed. "But…but if Earth has so many magicals, then why hasn't this Republic or Empire invaded us yet?"

"Simple." His mother shrugged as a single dot appeared in the darkened area of the galaxy. "Because this is where Earth is located. Deep in the uncharted sections of the galaxy. There is also a shroud of some sort surrounding Earth that makes it all but invisible to Force users unless you're in the same solar system as it. For some reason that I've been unable to understand…this same shroud almost completely severs Earth's connect to the Force. For all intense and purposes, Earth is located in its own isolated pocket of space."

"But then…if Earth is hidden why should we be venturing out? Wouldn't…wouldn't that led these Sith back to us?" Ginny asked looking up at the map and experimentally poking her finger through it.

"It's possible." His mother nodded. "But in the end it won't matter. The Sith will find Earth eventually. Because the shroud around Earth is failing. Fast. It is less than half as potent as it was when I first arrived over a decade ago. In time it will fail completely. And when it does…well such a large concentration of Force users in one spot would be akin to standing in a dark room with a dozen search lights around you and screaming at the top of your lungs."

"So they'll know we exist." Daphne nodded. "But Master…how would they get to us? You're the first to find us."

"No." Ginny said suddenly, her eyes shooting back and forth between Harry and Nox. "That – that tomb in Egypt! That belonged to some Force user right? That's why there were lightsabers in it! Force user's form your part of the galaxy have already been to Earth!"

His mother merely nodded. "Yes. For those of you who are lost right now, last summer while Harry and I went with the Weasley's to Egypt, we discovered that her oldest brother and his team had stumbled across a tomb…or more precisely a prison. And within was a Force user that I thought long dead."

"A Force user from your time Master Nox." Luna blinked looking up at Nox. "No…the Emperor of your time."

Shaking her head, his mother chuckled. "Little seer…you're going to go and spoil all of my secrets before I even get a chance to do so." Placing the pensieve back on the table, his mother drew her wand and used it to turn the contents within the bowl twice. "Now we could sit here all day and play twenty questions. But I've also believed in showing rather than telling."

"Are you going to show us what you showed our parents?" Susan asked excitedly.

"That," his mother said as they all leaned extended their hands towards the liquidly surface of the pensieve. "And then some."

The moment Harry's hand touched the surface of the liquid, he felt himself falling. When the sensation stopped, he found himself standing next to his mother, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Daphne, Susan, Tracey, Hannah, and Ron. "Watch only." His mother said. "You can ask questions when were through."

The darkness surrounding them receded and they were standing on a metal platform overlooking a desert. Off to one side several large men in black armor were hauling several people in chains out of a ship. With no small amount of shock, Harry recognized one of them. She was young…about as young as he was now. But her black hair and green eyes were unmistakable. "Mother…"

"Later Harry." His mother said as man in fancy clothing and armor strode up to the group.

 _"So this is the gutter trash that I have to deal with." The man snarled before kicking one of the bound individuals. "Pathetic. None of you are worthy to even scrape the shit off of the bottom of a Sith's boots. But none the less…Lord Zash has tasked me with sorting through you lot and find one worthy of being her apprentice. And make no mistake…I will do so. And if any of you have any ill-notions of escape, let me put them to rest right now. The only way off Korriban is as an apprentice. In two months one of you will be chosen. The rest of you trash will be dead."_

The pensieve shifted and they were now standing in dark cave. His mother was limping towards a massive creature as blood seeped down her side.

" _Yield Khem Val." She hissed pointing the metal sword she was holding at the creature._

 _The beast stared at her, then threw his head back and laughed._ _ **"Ha! Defeated…by a Sith…not even a Sith…how low I have fallen."**_

"That wasn't English!" Hermione gasped as the memory stopped. "How could we understand that?"

"Because I understood him." Nox answered. "No more questions or interruptions until we're done."

Another shift, and they were standing in some sort of office. His mother and Khem Val were standing next to a blond hair woman while the fancily dressed man from earlier and a man with red skin cowered before them.

" _What were you thinking Harkan?" The blond woman snarled. "That you knew better than I what sort of apprentice I wanted? You fool." Lightning shout out from the woman's fingertips, causing the red skinned man to scream in agony. "Apprentice."_

" _Yes Master?" His mother acknowledge, bowing her head._

 _Letting up on her attack, the blond turned to his mother. "There is a rule here on Korriban. Only the surviving acolyte can become a full apprentice." Reaching behind her, the blond pulled out a lightsaber. "Make it so."_

 _His mother didn't even hesitate. Taking the lightsaber from her new Master, she strode towards the still twitching red skinned man and cut him down._

The memory shifted again. This time his mother was facing off against several men in brown robes while Khem Val and some other dark-skinned man flanked her.

" _I cannot believe that Lady Rehanna didn't kill you this time."_

" _Lady Rehanna and I had a long talk." The lead man said calmly. "And in the end…I convinced her of the lies of the Sith."_

" _You mean you forced her." His mother laughed. "Oh, you Jedi are all the same. She would've killed for you. And you turned her away. Again. And for what? Some stupid notion that emotions are 'evil'."_

" _Your words only prove the Jedi philosophy Sith." The man countered, his calm never faltering. "You brought forth emotions that should've been laid to rest and tried to twist them to your own gain."_

" _Oh, you're impossible." Nox sighed dramatically before turning to the dark skinned man next to her. "And here I was trying to be nice by setting him up to get laid. And to turn down a woman of Rehanna's caliber…Force. Think he was castrated Andronikos?"_

" _More than likely." The man nodded. "I would've locked the two of us in a cabin for day and made sure she couldn't walk right for a week. Hey, now that she's back on the market think we could swing by the Rist Manor after we finish here?"_

" _Enough!" The man in brown shouted, his calm leaving him momentarily. "My padawan's and I will do our sacred duty as Jedi and rid the galaxy of one more Sith!"  
"You pathetic man." Nox snarled. "Haven't you realize what I was trying to accomplish? I was trying to clear this place out so I wouldn't have to kill too many of you. But now that you're determined to stand in my way…none of you will leave here alive."_

The memory pulled back only to be replaced by one of his mother standing in dark cave, Khem at her back and a woman dressed like her Master to her front. Although he wasn't sure seeing as how her back was turned and the woman's hood was up.

" _Where did you get that lightsaber apprentice?"_

" _From my ancestor Lord Kallig." Nox answered, drawing her blade and igniting it. "You could call it…his final gift to me Darth Zash."_

" _Your ancestor is Lord Kallig? Astounding. Now…we don't have much time apprentice. The ritual is just about to begin."_

" _You mean the ritual where you kill me?" Nox snarled as she stepped into a fighting stance._

" _Kill you? My dear apprentice. I would never kill you. For you are far more precious to me than you could possibly imagine." Pulling down her hood, the woman turned. Her face was twisted and withered and didn't looked anything like the young beautiful woman that Harry had seen just a short moment ago. "Do you see apprentice? I'm old. Withered. Dying. And you…you are my legacy. My greatest hope to cheat death."_

 _Before his mother could move, she was enveloped by a blue sphere which also sprung up around Zash. "What!? What are you-"_

" _Calm yourself apprentice." Zash smiled. "This shouldn't hurt…at least I don't think it will. But I don't want any damage to come to my new body."_

 _Without warning, Khem leapt in from the darkness and brought his sword down on Zash's shield. Both shields shattered as a blinding light illuminated the cavern. When Harry could see again, he saw his mother standing over the corpse of Zash. "Apprentice?!" Harry blinked, the voice was coming from Khem…but it wasn't his voice. It was Zash's. "Apprentice! What have you done to me?"_

Another shift and they were with his mother standing before an old regal looking man who was studying a tablet his mother had just handed him.

" _You have just placed me in a very awkward situation, Lady Kallig."_

" _Because I didn't die like a good little girl Darth Thanaton?" His mother responded cockily._

" _Yes." The man, Thanaton, answered. "Tradition demands that with Zash's death, her powerbase be destroyed. You are the lichen pin to her powerbase. And the one who killed her. For the good of the Sith Order…you must die."_

 _Thanaton raised his hands sending dark wisps of Force energy at Nox. But instead of moving…Nox just stood there and the let the mist impact her. "Impressive." Thanaton acknowledge, seemingly surprised. "I didn't someone as brash as yourself to actually come up with such an impressive defense. But unfortunately for you. I am far old. Wiser. And more powerful than you could possibly imagine."_

The memory went dark before the darkness shifted. This time they were standing the middle of some ruins in the middle of a jungle. Hearing footsteps, Harry turned and felt his jaw drop. While he'd never seen her…there was no mistaking the orange skinned woman who was standing before his mother. His mother's first apprentice…and lover. Ashara.

" _Why should I believe you?" Ashara shouted, drawing her lightsaber and activating it. "You're Sith! Your order is built upon lies and deceit!"_

" _True…but only from a Jedi's point of view." Nox answered, clearing enjoying what was happening between the two of them. "But what I speak is the truth. I merely wish to enter the Jedi Enclave and remove the spirit that is haunting it."_

" _Master Ryen and Ocera have already tried-"_

" _And they're right about everything are they? Including their decision to hold you back?" His mother smiled as the young woman faltered. "Tell you what. You can watch and guard me as I remove the spirit."_

A shift later and they were standing before Ashara, a cat like man creature and a human.

" _I'm disappointed in you Ashara." His mother sighed making the younger girl cringe._

" _Ashara has done the right thing." The cat like creature said. "We cannot and will not allow a Sith to befoul this sacred ground with a Dark side ritual. Now surrender. Or be destroyed."_

 _His mother glared at the two Jedi. "How typical. I'm Sith…I'm the big baddy. Must kill before she kills us. Blah blah blah. Psh. Such narrow mindedness. I have no intention of surrendering or dying here. Now move aside. Let me claim what I've come here for…and I will let you two live. Maybe."_

" _Not a chance." The human shouted, drawing his blue lightsaber and pouncing at her._

 _Nox didn't even hesitate. Turning, she bisected the human in half before catching the blade of the cat creature. Two moves later and the cat creature was short one head. "Master Ryen! Master Ocera!" Ashara cried falling to her knees. "Oh no…what have I done?"_

" _You have done nothing Ashara." His mother said in a surprisingly calm voice. "Your Master's were the ones who brought this upon themselves."_

 _The young woman sniffed. "I – I betrayed the order. I might as well have killed them myself. What am I going to do?"_

 _Taking a step forward, his mother laid a hand on her shoulder. "You are going to continue your training, little Jedi. Only now…with me as your Master. And I promise you…I will never hold you back as these two did."_

Another shift and they were standing in a grand chamber that was lined on either side by six large chairs. Only eight of which were filled by either a physical body or a hologram.

" _The question stands Thanaton." One of the seated men said from behind his mask. "Why has this Lord…this child. Proved to be impossible for you to kill?"_

 _Stepping into the room, his mother spread her arms. "Have any of you stopped for one moment to consider that I am actually just that good?"_

" _A flippant response from a flippant fool." Thanaton scoffed. "Darth Marr! Lords of the Dark Council! I call upon you to strike down this upstart!"_

" _We have a Kaggath to finish Thanaton." His mother said quickly, drawing her lightsaber. "The same Kaggath that you ran away from on Corellia."_

" _She speaks the truth Thanaton." A red skin maned said with a smile. "Now hurry up and kill each already."_

 _Thanaton glared at the man. "Fine. I will end this myself. And when I do…you will all pay for your inactions."_

 _What followed next was incredible. Nox and Thanaton moved so fast that they almost seemed to apparating around the room. They threw lightning bolts with such Force that Harry could feel them despite it being only a memory. Floor panels were ripped up and thrown at one another. Statues along the walls were destroyed. Yet through all of the carnage…the eight seated people just merely sat there as if it were the most natural thing in the world._

 _After nearly thirty minutes of the most intense fighting Harry had ever seen, Thanaton was left trying to crawl away from his mother. Just before he could reach the edge of the seats, a man stepped down and stood before Thanaton. "I am sorry Thanaton." The man actually sounded somewhat remorseful…right before he used the Force to break Thanaton's neck._

" _Good riddance to bad rubbish." One of the seated men smirked._

" _He was a far better Sith than you give him credit for Ravage." Darth Marr said quickly._

 _The one who broke Thanaton's neck nodded before stepping up to Nox. "Let us hope that his successor is as worthy. My Lady…your seat awaits you."_

"What you just witnessed was my ascension from a slave to a member of the Dark Council. The leaders of the Sith Empire." His mother explained. "Now you may be wondering why I showed this to you. The short answer is that I want you all to understand the philosophy of the Sith. And for you to see that the warriors of Light, the Jedi, were always the good guys. They were blinded, as many are, by their own beliefs. And anything that went against those beliefs must be destroyed. But what they failed to understand is that the Force, as well as magic, will not allow light to exist when there is no darkness."

Pausing, she waved her hand causing the black clouds to start moving once more. "Now, let me show you when I started to realize that truth."

 _His mother was standing in ankle deep water in an enclosed room. Her lightsaber was crossed with a green blade belonging to a man who had sash across his eyes. "What are you doing here Darth Nox?" The man asked._

" _Hunting down the Sith Lord that organized the attacks on Korriban and Tython." Nox answered. "What about you? Battle Master Aedan, the Hero of Tython. What are you doing here?"_

 _Aedan shrugged. "Here hunting down the Republic Commando responsible for the attacks on Tython and Korriban. Now the way I see it…we can stay here and battle each other until we both drown to death. The thing is…I like living and I've got a feiry red head waiting in bed for me. So…what do you say to a truce? We can always go back to killing one another after we get out of here."_

 _Nox studied the Jedi across from her for several long moments. "Fine." She said taking a step back as the two deactivated their lightsabers at the same time. "But the second we find them…I get to kill them both."_

" _Only if I don't kill them first." Aedan smiled._

 _Nox laughed. "Careful Aedan. Keep saying things like that and I might just come too actually like you."_

The vision faded into the swirling darkness of the pensieve. When the black swirling clouds receded, they were standing in the center of ruin in the middle of a jungle. His mother was standing side by side with Aedan, Ashara, a short red haired woman, a blond woman, and a man with what looked to be cybernetic implants above his eye. And standing before the six of them with his back turned was a man wearing a black robe.

" _It's over Revan." Nox said loudly, making Harry do a double take. This man…this was Revan? "Your army is defeated. You're alone. Surrender now!"_

 _Revan looked up to the sky, his shoulders shaking as he stood. "If only you knew what I was trying to accomplish." The man said morosely. "The Emperor must die. And only I can do this."_

 _The group of six looked back and forth at one another at this. "The Emperor is dead." Aedan growled. "I killed him myself."_

 _"You killed his body. But the Emperor is more than just a physical being." Revan growled, turning around and facing the group. "Make no mistake…the Emperor is still very much alive in the Force. Only by bringing him back to life can he be truly defeated. Everything until now has led to this point. The war…a necessary component for his resurrection. Soon he will come back to life. And I will end him."_

 _Taking a step forward, his mother activated her lightsaber and pointed the reddish black blade at Revan. "So you started a war in order to kill billions just so that you could conduct a ritual to bring back a being whose entire life has been dedicated to the destruction of all life in the galaxy. You do realize just how ass backwards your reasoning is right?"_

 _Revan's face contorted as he snarled. "I do not expect someone who has limited themselves so to understand the true nature of the Force, Darth Nox. And if you think you six can stop me…then you are sadly mistaken."_

 _"They're not alone Revan."_

 _A two sets of feet hitting the ground turned everyone around. Behind them stood Darth Marr and Satale Shan. Then another being, this one covered in fur and taller than Hagrid, emerged from the forest. And lastly, a woman wearing armor from head to toe and using some sort of jet pack landed behind them as well._

 _"Nine on one." His mother smirked turning her head so she was staring right at Revan. "Difficult odds…even for the likes of you Revan."_

 _Revan stared at the assembled group quietly for a moment. "Amazing…that one could be so knowledgeable, so powerful. Yet at the same time be so naïve." Reaching behind his back, Revan pulled out a mask placed it on his face before pulling out a lightsaber that Harry was all too familiar with. "Nine on one means nothing when one truly understands the true nature of the Force! Let me educate you all on your folly!"_

 _If Harry thought that his mother's fight against Thanaton was impressive…then the fight against Revan was on a whole other level. Despite being heavily outnumbered…Revan held his ground against all of them with ease. He countered the blade work of the Sith and Jedi without hesitation. The Force attacks that Nox and Satele sent against him were batted aside with his bare hand. The blaster bolts and even missiles from the others were either stopped in midflight or redirected. But no matter what they did…Revan kept standing tall._

 _"Enough!" Revan shouted, sending a shockwave through the ground and throwing everyone away from him as if they were rag dolls. "Stop interfering!"_

"Who…who was that?" Ron gapped as the memory faded. "He…bloody hell…"

"That was Revan." His mother answered. "He is the one that opened my eyes, quite pointedly as you saw, as to the true nature of the Force."

"What do you mean Madam Nox?" Hannah asked.

With a wave of her hand, his mother called back the memory they'd just witnessed and paused it part way into the fight. "Revan was powerful when he was but a Jedi when he only used the light side of the Force. When he was turned to the dark side by the Sith Emperor he became even more powerful. But yet he only used the dark side during his reign amongst the Sith. Eventually he was turned back to the ways of the Jedi…but he still used the dark side of the Force. And that was when he became the force of nature that you just witnessed."

Collapsing the memory, Nox brought another one forward. "Now, let us continue."

The next set of memories were ones that Harry recognized. It was the same set that she showed to Sirius and the others to get them on her side. Togther with his friends, he watched as the planet of Ziost was destroyed by the Sith Emperor so he could regain a physical form. The memory then shift to his mother being attacked by the two unknown assailants and being sealed in a time stasis field.

The revelations that occurred next with Revan, Satele, and Marr about how she'd been trapped for nearly four thousands year nearly made Hermione faint. Then it continued on to her rescuing of Harry and the removal of the Horcrux from his skull.

"What you are about to see next is from Harry." His mother announced, laying her hands on his shoulders. "From his first year."

Taking a steadying breath, Harry waved his hand and activated the memory that he'd added to the pensive. "This is from the end of the term!" Hermione shouted as they watched Harry subdue the Cerberus and open the hatch.

"Yes." Harry nodded as he watched his past-self make his way through the various traps the teachers had laid out. "Dumbledore had hidden the Philosopher's Stone. Or at least that is what he wanted everyone to believe. We're still not sure whether the stone was real or not."

As Harry walked past the dead troll and into the potion's room, Daphne scoffed loudly. "They were supposedly hiding the one of the most sought after and priceless artifacts in the world…and these were the best defensives they could come up with? No offense Harry…but this is pathetic."

"None taken." Harry said, taking a small breath in as his past-self walked through the wall of fire. "But what happens next…it's the true reason why I wanted to show you this."

Everyone watched in silence as Harry confronted Quirrell about his attempted theft of the stone. When Quirrell lowered his turban, everyone took a step back and gasped. "Merlin's beard!" Ginny gasped, staring at the image of Voldemort sticking out from the back of Quirrell's head. "That…that's really him, isn't it?"

"Bloody hell." Tracey mumbled. "It's one thing to hear you say it. But to actually see it…bloody hell…"

With a wave of her hand, Nox cancelled Harry's memory and brought forth another. "Now to answer the question as to what happened several weeks ago."

When the memory started up again, the world around them was tunneled and focused onto a single being cloaked in a black cape. _"The time has come…execute Order 66."_

Hundreds of visions passed before their eyes in a matter of seconds. Harry felt his knees go weak as he watched hundreds and thousands of Jedi be cut down mercilessly by their own troops. Hearing a sniffle behind him, Harry reached back blindly and wrapped his arm around a thin set of shoulders. "It's not right…" Luna cried burying her face into his shoulder. "Their pain…their sense of betrayal…it wasn't right."

Harry felt his own eyes grow moist as he watched a young Padawan fall to his knees and cry out as he obviously felt his Master's death. He could feel for the young Jedi. He didn't know what he would do if mother were to suddenly die. He just about cheered out loud when he heard his mother's voice in the memory shout out to the small green Jedi. And he did cheer when he watched her defend the strange blue Jedi, giving her just enough time to escape. As the vision changed, he felt completely awed as his mother reached out to the remaining Jedi and issued her warning and delivered the Guardian Code.

As the memory ended, Harry felt himself being pulled upwards and before he knew what was going on he was back on his feet on board the _Ashara._

"Merlin and Morgana." Daphne breathed, backing up on unsteady feet before collapsing onto the bench behind her. "All those Jedi…"

There wasn't a clear eye amongst them, even Ron's eyes were red despite his attempts at looking tough. "Why?" Hermione breathed as she furiously wiped at tears falling from her eyes. "Why would they do that!? The – oh Merlin, he slaughtered children for Merlin's sake! Why?"

"They're Sith." His mother answered. "The darkest of the Sith. Men and women who make your Lord Voldemort seem like child's play in comparison."

"So what are we going to do about them Master?" Susan asked, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. "What? You all just saw what they did? Do you need any more reason than that to go after these two - these two bastards?"

Smiling, his mother stepped forward and patted Susan on the shoulder. "Unfortunately at the moment we lack the ability to do little more than what we are doing at the moment. If we find any surviving Jedi we will take them back with us and convert them into a Guardian. But without an army we stand little chance against the might of this new Empire."

"So we build an army." Luna said with a fierceness that surprised just about everyone in the room.

"That's the idea." Nox nodded. "We start with Earth. Unfortunately for us though…Earth is fractured polarized beyond belief. They wouldn't be able to stand against an invading army, let alone one with the might of the Empire."

"So what do we do?" Ron asked.

Smiling, his mother used the Force to put the pensieve away. "First, we strike down the Veil of Secrecy. And then we unite the world under one banner comprised of both magicals and non-magicals standing side by side as equals. And then we take the fight back to the Empire."

* * *

The streets of Little Hangleton were completely deserted save for a lone figure that was doing its best to try and avoid anyone seeing him. Turning the corner of another street, the figure clutched the bundle he was carrying tighter as he saw his destination. Or at least what was left of his destination.

"What…is it…Wormtail?"

Peter, or Wormtail, shuddered as he heard the rasping voice of his master coming from the bundle of cloth that he was holding. "M-Master…the house is – is destroyed."

The small being in his arms hissed loudly, making Wormtail wince at the noise. While he didn't understand a lick of parseltongue…he'd come to recognize that particular calling. The sound of scaly leather sliding across concreate made Wormtail whimper slightly as he saw the ten foot familiar of his Lord slither past him and towards the edge of the hill. The snake raised its head and began swiveling back and forth before hissing in return.

"Nagini can't identify who…it was. Let me…see Wormtail."

Maneuvering the bundle in his arms carefully, Wormtail turned the homunculus of Lord Voldemort around so that he could see what lay before them. The hill was still intact. But the small shack that was supposed to be at the top was gone. Well…not so much gone as it had been severed from the base of the house and moved off of its frame before being dropped.

The Dark Lord stared at the ruins in silence for several long moments before suddenly hissing out a complex series of sounds. The ground leading up the hill towards the shack lit up briefly illuminating a large series of complex runes all along the hill. Then just as quickly as they came, the ruins disappeared. "It is…safe to approach…Wormtail. Bring me to…the house."

Clutching the bundle tight once more, Wormtail carefully stepped around the giant snake before making his way up the hill towards what remained of the Gaunt Family Shack.

Stepping through what used to be the entrance door to the small house, Peter looked around desperately trying to find something, anything, which could be of value. But if there was anything of value in this house, it'd more than likely been destroyed by however had quite literally cut the house in half. As he walked through the house, Peter tried to think of just who could've done this. Unfortunately, he could only reasonably come up with two names. Dumbledore. And Nox. And judging by the sheer level of destruction…Nox was the more likely culprit of the two.

"Sspeak Wormtail." The bundle in his arms hissed. "You…suspect something…speak."

"I – I think I know who d – did this Master." Peter stuttered. "N – Nox."

The creature in his arms hissed. "The…adoptive mother of…Harry Potter. She…scares you."

The homunculus in his arm's twisted slightly as one withered hand reached out. "There…bring me…over there."

Moving to where his Master was pointing, Peter started whimpering as he saw a large hole in the center of the floor. His Master stared down at the hole in silence for several long moments before hissing loudly. "We must…leave now."

"Wh – where are we going Master?" Peter asked already dreading the trip. He'd had to travel on foot or with muggle transportation most the way from Albania.

"Another one of…my servants is…waiting for me Wormtail." His Master hissed. "We must…reach him…now. Come Nagini. We are…leaving."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: So here we are…the last chapter** **In All Things Balance** **. I gotta say…the response to this story has been incredible. Hopefully there won't be any delay in coming out with the next arc,** **IATB: The Rise** **. So please look for that one sometime soon.**

 **Also, a big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, or added this to their favorites/alerts. Your support has been incredible. And as a side note to the reviews, I tried to answer everyone who leaves a detailed review or question. Now, to that for some reason several reviews were not posted. I got an email notification and could read your reviews, however they do not appear on and when I press the URL in the email to reply it says that they don't exist. The counter keeps changing, but your reviews are simply missing.**

 **I reported the problem to , but do not know if anything has or will be done. So for my fellow authors, keep try to keep track of this because I'm not sure if this is an isolated issue or not. Side note, your reviews finally showed up five days later and I answered as many as I could lol.**

 **So, enough of that! On to the last chapter! And a big big thank you to Dunstan Xenon and HowInMadHowie who have agreed to beta read the previous chapters and my chapters from here on out! So a huge thank you to both of you.**

 **Chapter 19**

Slamming her back against the concrete wall Ahsoka Tano, former Padawan of the Jedi Order, tried desperately to catch her breath as she hid in the dark alley. _'You've really done it this time Ahsoka.'_ She cursed at herself as she tried to press herself further back into the shadows. _'And this time Sky-guy isn't around to save you. Or anyone for that matter…'_

After leaving the Jedi Order, Ahsoka's life had become one struggle after another. Not that that was particularly new for the ex-Padawan of the 'Hero-Without-Fear'. But this was a different type of struggle. Things she'd taken for granted before where now a luxury. Like where she would sleep at night. Or when would she be able to scrounge enough credits together to actually get a decent meal.

It took her nearly two weeks to barter herself a passage off Coruscant, selling herself as a mechanic, and even then she was forced to stay in a compartment that was little more than a spare storage hutch onboard the ship. She didn't necessarily care where the ship was going. As long as it was away from Coruscant. Away from her memories. After several weeks of traveling the ship entered the Outer Rim and Ahsoka disembarked on the first colony that she could.

After leaving the ship her life seemed to even out. If only slightly. She managed to find a job at a junk dealer fixing odds and ends. She even managed to find herself a small living space. And best of all, no one here recognized her! She could finally start her life over. Well, nothing lasts forever.

That's when…it happened. She remembered that day vividly. She was sitting at the local bar enjoying her first warm meal in weeks when all of the holonet channels went blank. When they came back on, they were filled with the image of a severely injured Supreme Chancellor. What he said next caused more than a few gasps to ring through the bar. The Jedi had tried to throw a coup of the Senate and were the ones responsible for the Clone Wars. And that the Jedi, past and present, were considered to be enemies of the new Galactic Empire and that they would be hunted down and brought to justice. One way or another.

Over the course of the next two weeks she tried her best to keep her head down. She even tried to discreetly contact Sky-guy, Rex and even Obi-wan. But none of them answered her calls. Then the list came out. The list that detailed the most wanted 'enemies' of the Empire. And the reward for their capture or elimination.

Grandmaster Yoda's name was at the top of the list, his bounty nearly seven figures if brought in alive and half of that if brought in dead. Master Kenobi's, Master Ti's, Master Secura's and Master Vos's names were all listed next with bounties only slightly less than Yoda's. What really surprised her though was seeing her name listed as number ten on the list. Her bounty wasn't nearly as high as the Masters, but it was enough to ensure that just about every bounty hunter in the galaxy would be gunning for her as well.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to stay at the colony any longer. She had to move and fast. Scrounging what little money she managed to earn she bartered passage off of the colony with a local starship captain that promised 'discretion and no questions asked'. Unfortunately for her, the captain refused to leave for at least another day or two as he waited for a deal to go through. And seeing as how she didn't have nearly enough credits on hand to change his mind, she agreed to his terms.

With no option left to her, she headed back to her small apartment. And that was when her current predicament began. When she arrived back at her small apartment she found that it was already surrounded by no less than a dozen bounty hunters while several more searched through the few belongings she had in an attempt to find her.

And then it happened. It was pure stupidity on her part. The moment she saw the bounty hunters she should've turned and ran. But she didn't. Instead she just stood there gaping long enough for one of the armored men to spot her and alert his friends. After that, she had no choice but to run.

And run she did. For nearly a full twenty hours she ran, ducked, slid, hid and did whatever else was necessary to avoid her pursuers. After a full day of running she seemed to have caught a break as her pursuers gave up chasing her and instead set up a perimeter around the city. Knowing that this would be her only chance, she snuck through the ventilation ducts in the colony until arriving at the hangar bay belonging to the captain that she'd already secured passage with. The man was pleasant enough and welcomed her aboard his ship. Just before he pulled out a blaster and opened fire on her.

The slight warning from the Force had saved her life, but unfortunately she had ended up taking the blaster bolt that was meant for her heart right in her upper thigh. She tried to make a break for his ship after successfully knocking the captain out cold. Rationalizing that seeing as how this man had just tried to kill her his ship was fair game. But just as she was about to board, five more bounty hunters poured out from inside the ship and opened fire on her.

The wound on her leg hampered her abilities more than slightly. But thankfully being an apprentice to Sky-guy had placed her into more than a few similar situations and she was able to escape from the hanger bay. If only barely. And now here she was. Hiding in a darkened alley. No way off the planet. Out of breath. Tired. And bleeding.

Spying a somewhat clean piece of cloth next to her, Ahsoka tore off a strip and tied around her leg. Gritting her teeth, she tightened the knot placing pressure onto her wound. _'Force! That never gets any easier!'_

Making sure that her makeshift bandage wasn't going anywhere, Ahsoka sunk down the length of the wall until her bottom hit the ground. She had to get out of here. But how? The colony was closed off from the rest of the planet. All of the hanger bays were closed off. Just about everyone in the colony that owned a blaster was out looking for her. And she'd just wasted the last of her credits securing a ride from a man who ended up stabbing her in the back. _'Get a hold of yourself Ahsoka!'_ She screamed at herself as she felt tears threatening to form in the corners of her eyes. _'You've been in tighter spots than this! Just think…'_

Her eyes widen as she realized something. _'All of the bounty hunters are in the street…and the hangers are locked down. Which means…the ships had to be lightly guarded! If they were even guarded at all! 'If I can get to one I can more than likely make it off planet and into hyperspace before they even know what happening!'_

She winced slightly at the fact that she'd just resigned herself to stealing another's starship. But considering that the owners of those ships were out currently trying to capture or kill her…she felt herself justified. The trick though was getting there. The streets were covered with bounty hunters. And from the few blaster bolts that she'd just barely managed to dodge, there were even more stationed up on the roofs. _'Thank the Force I'm still at least somewhat small.'_

Pushing herself up off the ground, Ahsoka kept to the shadows as best she could as she navigated through the zig-zagging pattern that made up the back alleys of the colony. After nearly a full hour of slow movements she finally managed to reach the outside of a hangar bay that was on the opposite side of the colony from where she'd original started.

Moving along the base of the wall, Ahsoka spotted a small exhaust vent next to an even smaller ledge. Casting a quick glance around to make sure she was alone, she jumped up the not so slight distance to the ledge while doing her best to ignore the pain in her leg. Once she was on the ledge she felt around the grate covering the vent shaft. _'Wonderful…screwed in tight.'_ For not the first time she cursed her lack of a lightsaber and renewed her promise that as soon as she was safe again she would work on constructing a new one.

 _'Well…the secrets already out I guess.'_

Grasping the grate with the Force she tore the piece of durasteel off the shaft and carefully lowered it to the ground. _'Really hope that no one heard that.'_

Worming her way into the tight shaft, Ahsoka crawled her way through the length of the duct until she reached another grate. Peering through, she found another ship below. And for the first time it looked as if her luck had taken a turn for the better as the ship was apparently unguarded.

With a slight Force push she knocked the grate out and then caught it before it could fall and make any noise. Rolling out of the opening, she flipped head over heels before landing gracefully on her feet behind a set of shipping containers without a sound.

Peaking around the edge of the shipping containers, she saw that the ship was indeed truly unguarded. _'This isn't right._ ' She thought, biting her lip. _'My luck isn't that good. There should be at least one guard here. Maybe…maybe they're inside? Well…only one way to find out.'_ Coming around the container, she broke into a sprint as she made for the ship's loading ramp.

She'd managed to get halfway to the ship when she felt a warning pulsating from the Force. Leaping off the floor, she just barely managed to evade the line of mines that'd been concealed underneath the grated floor. Unfortunately for her, her leg wound prevented her from clearing the blast radius completely and the shockwave sent her spiraling to the ground.

Another pulse from the Force and she flipped herself over, just barely evading a blaster bolt that'd struck right where she'd just been. Continuing to roll, she managed to avoid three more blaster bolts. But then her luck ran out as she felt a pair of spikes pierce into her back. A split second later she was screaming and flailing about as several thousand volts of electricity coursed through the spikes and into her body.

When the pulses mercifully ended, Ahsoka was left as a quivering mess on the ground. Unable to turn her head let alone get up and run away. Hearing light footfalls approaching her, she managed to turn her head just barely far enough to see who was coming. And when she saw who the bounty hunter was, she wanted to groan and yell in frustration.

"Well, well…isn't this a pleasant surprise." The bounty hunter Aurra Sing laughed as she slapped a pair of binders onto her wrists. "Little Ahsoka Tano. The Padawan of the 'Hero-Without-Fear' himself. And number ten on the galaxy's most wanted list. It seems like you're finally going to be able to pay me back for all of the trouble you've caused me these past two years."

Ahsoka could vaguely hear the sounds of others approaching, but she didn't really care. With a groan of despair she let her head fall back to the floor. She was wounded, captured, and at the moment couldn't use the Force even if she wanted to as she was sure that Sing had placed a pair of stun binders on her. Which she could normally be able to escape. But against Sing…that was another matter completely.

Hearing blaster fire, Ahsoka turned her head up just enough to see Sing holding her blaster towards the ones who'd been approaching them. "I thank you for your help. But this bounty is mine and mine alone."

"Bantha poodoo Sing!" A deep voice growled from behind her. "This little bitch has given us more than we bargained for! We're turning in the bounty together or-"

Sing fired off another bolt and the voice cut off. "Is this really worth dying for you idiot? This girl is mine. You fools didn't do anything to help me capture her. So why don't you take the credits I gave you already and shove off. Or, you can press your luck and die right here and now. Your choice."

The deep voice growled once again. "Damn Sing. If I see you again and I'll rip your limbs off!"

Sing merely smiled as she grabbed hold of Ahsoka by the binder cuffs and began pulling her towards the ship. "The last person to make that threat to me is currently floating through space with a very limited oxygen tank. Don't make the same mistake idiot. Farewell gentlemen."

As Ahsoka felt her back scrape along the rough surface of the boarding ramp she closed her eyes tight. _'What am I going to do now?'_

* * *

Sitting in his office overlooking the grand city-planet of Coruscant, former Supreme Chancellor and now Emperor of the First Galactic Empire Darth Sidious stared down at his empire and smiled. After decades of planning and re-planning he had finally achieved what no Sith before him had ever achieved. Total control of the known galaxy. His plan had worked perfectly.

Well…almost perfectly.

The Senate was fully under his control now and would soon be dissolved into different governing territories. And while his people within the Senate told him that there was support for what he planned to do, there were still a number of Senators who opposed him. Most notably were Senators Mon Mothma and Bail Organa. But fortunately…without their leader Padme Amidala they didn't have quite the voice that they used too.

Traditional logic dictated that he simply remove the two. Permanently. And while that particular idea did have some merit in the short term, in the long term in could create more problems. So no. At the moment he would let the two live and continue to dig their own graves as they plotted against the Empire. And once they'd gathered enough support, he would crush whatever type of rebellion they could muster.

The second thing, and more important aspect in his opinion, that went wrong was the initial Jedi Purge. While he wasn't disappointed by what happened…he was not pleased. While he suspected that some Jedi would escape the initial purge, far more Jedi survived than he would've liked. Most notably among them were Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Shaak Ti, Aayla Secura, Rahm Kota, and Quinlan Vos. If any of them teamed up with the either Organa or Mothma…they might actually pose a threat to him.

But it was more than just the fact that so many high ranking Jedi survived. Just before he issued Order 66, his plan accounted for the possibility of at least a hundred Jedi surviving. In actuality…somewhere between two and three hundred Jedi survived the initial purge. And it was all attributed to a factor that he never even considered to be a possibility. Another Force user, just as powerful as he, stepping in and defending the Jedi.

It was this same Force sensitive that planted a seed of doubt within Darth Vader. The same seed that caused Vader to lose and nearly die against Kenobi. But thankfully Kenobi's defeat of Vader and Padme's subsequent death only reaffirmed Palpatine's hold over Vader and ensured that his apprentice would remain faithful to the dark side of the Force.

But still…the problem of this strange Force user persisted. He spent days after the purge in a deep state of meditation trying to find this strange Force user. If they were as powerful as he thought…then they would make an excellent apprentice. That is if they could overcome Vader of course. But if they resisted him…then he needed to find them and snub them out before they could rally the remaining Jedi and those who would oppose him in the Senate. But no matter what he did, he couldn't find this Force user. It was unbelievably frustrating. But there almost seemed to be some kind of cloak over this individual that kept them from his gaze.

Feeling a familiar presence coming closer, Sidious smiled as he turned his chair far enough so he could see the elevator's leading to his office. Once the doors opened, his faithful apprentice stepped out and made his way towards him. When Vader had crossed half the distance between the two of them, he sunk to one knee and placed six lightsabers onto the floor.

"It is done, my Master." The dark lord of the Sith breathed. "The Conclave on Kessel is destroyed. The Jedi thought to trap and kill me. But they all died one by one."

"And what of Kenobi?" Sidious asked leaning back in his seat. "He was the reason you ambushed the conclave in the first place."

Vader remained quiet. "He wasn't there. None of the Jedi I questioned knew of his location."

Leaning back, Sidious decided to twist the knife as it were. "A shame. Kenobi has once again eluded us. Your revenge against him will just have to wait now won't it?" He mused cruelly.

Several items in the room began to shake as Vader's wrath flowed through him. "He will not elude us forever, my Master. I will have my revenge against the Master of Anakin Skywalker."

"I know you will Lord Vader." Sidious smiled. Vader had fully rejected his past. There was no Anakin Skywalker left in him. "However, despite your recent success against the Jedi, hundreds still elude us."

"I will find them, my Master." Vader growled.

The ferocity with which spoke made Sidious want to smile all the wider. "Yes you will Lord Vader. But the Jedi are crafty and they have friends that will help them. If we are to truly eradicate the Jedi scum and bring peace to the galaxy we must draw them out of hiding."

"How, my Master?"

Activating the hologram in his office, Sidious rose from his seat and walked around his desk while motioning for Vader to stand. "I have sent word to the bounty hunters guild. The price I've placed on the Jedi will ensure that every one with a blaster will be hunting them. But I've also set another precedent with this bounty. Any Jedi turned in alive is worth double."

Vader turned towards him. "Alive?"

"Yes." Sidious laughed. "Alive. You cannot expect to set a trap without bait now can you, Hmm?" Sidious chuckled darkly. "And the bounty has already bore fruit. Moff Tarkin, the Governor of the Outer Rim, has reported saying that he was presented with a Jedi that Anakin Skywalker was familiar with. You will take an Inquisitor of your choosing and head for Moff Tarkin's flagship. There you will question the Jedi. Extensively."

"The Jedi may not talk my Master." Vader warned.

"It doesn't matter." Sidious cackled, waving off Vader's concern. "I don't care if you learn anything from them or not. Their pain and suffering is all that is needed. And when the Jedi feel the suffering of their companion, they will come to save them."

"And I will capture those who come and instigate a new round of questioning." Vader nodded in understanding.

Sidious cackled again, "Yes. Very good Lord Vader." Sidious laughed as he walked back to his seat. "After you deal with this first Jedi I want you to hand the task of their questioning over to the Inquisitors. This will be a good test for them."

"And what of the Force presence that interrupted us before, my Master?" Vader asked, making Sidious stop in his tracks.

Slowly turning back to his apprentice, Sidious fixed Vader with a glare that left no room for misinterpretation. "Should this Force sensitive show themselves, then I trust you to track them down and deal with them. Should you fall…then obviously my faith in your abilities were misplaced and I shall begin searching for a new and stronger apprentice."

Kneeling, Vader lowered his head. "Your will shall be done, my Master."

* * *

Closing his eyes Yoda prepared to enter a deep state of meditation while his small shuttle lurched into hyperspace. The children of Anakin Skywalker were safe. At least for the time being. Leia's ability with the Force was slight at best and so there was no reason to worry about Darth Vader discovering her while she was being raised by Senator Organa. But Luke…his power was extraordinary. Almost on par with his father. Which is why he had Obi-Wan take the child to Tatooine, as far from the galactic core as possible.

Feeling the vibrations in his shuttle settle down he let out a long sigh. He'd failed. There was no other simpler explanation than that. He failed to discover the identity of Darth Sidious until it was far, far too late. He'd failed to prevent one of the best Jedi in the Order from falling to the dark side. He'd failed to defend the Jedi who were under his care. And he'd failed to end Sidious during their confrontation.

 _ **"Do not give in to despair old friend. The battle may have been lost. But the war is far from over."**_ A familiar voice spoke.

Opening his eyes, Yoda reached out and took hold of the controls and brought his ship out of hyperspace. "Hear your voice once again, good it is Master Qui-Gon."

 _ **"And you as well, old friend."**_ The voice of Qui-Gon Jinn responded as a single orb of light appeared in Yoda's shuttle.

Yoda felt himself perk up slightly, before his good mood evaporated once more. "Fallen, Skywalker has. Destroyed, the balance is. Failed the Jedi, failed the Force. I have."

 _ **"Even when times are darkest there is still hope old friend. Not even those who have joined with the Force know its full intentions. Anakin may have fallen, but there is still good in him. No matter how much darkness has entered his heart, that sliver will always be there. And you have ensured that the ones who can reach it will still be around to do so."**_

"The children of Skywalker." Yoda nodded. "Too young they are. Use them, we cannot. Lest Sidious find them, hiding they must remain."

 _ **"Their role will be to call upon the last sliver of light within Anakin. But there is another who can challenge the Empire. One who will bring balance back to the Force."**_ Qui-Gon said with a cryptic smile.

Closing his eyes, Yoda nodded. "Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order. Part of the old code, does she speak." Yoda tiled his head in remembrance.

 _ **"Yes. If the Jedi are to survive they must evolve old friend. Just as I told you time and time again when I was still with you all. Change must not be feared, but embraced. No matter its source. Follow the Force old friend. Find the one who will reshape the Force and offer what aid you can. May the Force be with you. Now and always."**_ Qui-Gon's final words echoed as he faded away.

Feeling the presence of his friend disappear, Yoda opened his eyes and stared out into the abyss of space. He'd been planning to head to Dagobah and remain in isolation until it was time to train young Luke in the ways of the Force. But apparently the Force had a different task in mind for him.

Closing his eyes once more Yoda, for the first time in hundreds of years, repeated a different mantra in his head as he fell into a deep state of meditation. "Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet Order." Letting the Force guide his actions, he saw a world that'd been long forgotten. A world removed from the annals of history. Placing the new coordinates into his shuttle's navicomputer, Yoda allowed himself to sleep for the first time in a long time as his ship changed course and jumped into hyperspace.

* * *

Pulling her cloak tighter around her body, Aayla Secura, former Master of the Jedi Order, watched as yet another band of bounty hunters' ship touched down in the spaceport of Nar Shaddaa. After her narrow escape from her own execution on Felucia, thanks in no small part to the mysterious Force presence that held her troopers at bay, she'd wandered the void of space in her small Jedi fighter for several days as she tried to figure out just what was going on.

The same mysterious presence that'd saved her had also sent out a message that said that the Jedi had been betrayed by one of their own and by the people they'd been entrusted to protect. And despite her own troopers turning on her, Aayla didn't want to believe it. But then she got her proof. A vid surfaced of the newly appointed 'Emperor of the Galactic Empire' calling all of the Jedi's traitors and saying that the remaining Jedi would be hunted down and brought to justice.

After hearing that, Aayla did something she never thought she'd do. Something incredibly un-Jedi. She broke down and cried. She cried for the loss of her friends and family amongst the Jedi. She cried even harder for Kit Fisto. She cried for her former-Master. She cried and cried until there was no tears left in her.

As the tears finally subsided, Aayla felt something she hadn't felt in a long time. Anger. No…not anger. Anger was too soft of a word for what she was feeling. She was beyond furious. Someone in the Order had betrayed them all. 'One of your own has betrayed you', the voice had said. But the question was…who? Suddenly she wanted the voice to come and find her right then and there. She wanted her vengeance. However un-Jedi like it might be.

Pulling herself together, she then set a course for the one place that no one would think to look for her on. More than likely because no one would think any surviving Jedi would be crazy enough to go there for refuge. Nar Shaddaa.

After a quick hyperspace jump, Aayla was guiding her fighter down towards the sprawling city of crime. Of course flying a Republic Jedi fighter was akin to painting a target on her ship. Especially over a place like Nar Shaddaa. Within minutes of her coming out of hyperspace she had no less than half a dozen ships on her tail trying to shoot her down. Which was, of course, what she was hoping for. After making a quick banking turn around a blind corner she set the autopilot to bring the ship back up into orbit before opening the hatch to her fighter and jumping out onto the roof of a nearby building while her ship took off. Her fighter only managed to fly for another few seconds before half a dozen more ships shot it to pieces.

And that was how she ended up on Nar Shaddaa. Because her fighter was a clearly marked Jedi fighter, and she had announced her name to the docking tower, many assumed that Aayla Secura was dead. Or at least she hoped that they did. And considering that no one had tried to pull a blaster on her during the week and a half she'd been grounded, she could only assume that her ruse had worked.

Every day she checked the back channels the Jedi used on the holonet to try and find if any other Jedi had survived what had become known by the galaxy as 'The Great Jedi Purge'. Ever mindful of the supposed traitor though, she kept her time on the holonet channels brief. When those channels failed to find anyone, she started searching the Force through deep meditation. But again, ever mindful of the Sith she kept her searches quick.

After several weeks of fruitless searching she began to get desperate for any news at all. Which was why she was now standing just outside one of the many hangar bays on Nar Shaddaa watching as bounty hunters came and went. It was her hope that one of the bounty hunters might slip and reveal some sort of clue as to the possible whereabouts of other Jedi. It was a long shot and incredibly foolish. But she was desperate.

After nearly a full day of hanging around the spaceport and hearing nothing, she decided that a new approach would be needed if she were to have any chance of finding her fellow Jedi. Or the mysterious Force presence that'd saved her life. Until she heard something that drew her attention.

"-nerf-humping bitch Sing! Stole one of the top ten right out from under my fucking nose!"

Hearing those words, Aayla's attention immediately honed in on the speaker. It was a human male with long tangled brown hair and a scar running across the length of his face and over his nose. Edging slightly closer, she saw that the man was talking to several members of a local bounty hunter group. None of them looked particularly happy.

From the group of bounty hunters, a large weequay stepped forward and put his fist right into the human's gut. "I don't give a shit for your excuses Huno," the weequay growled as the human dropped to his knees. "And neither do the Hutts. They want their payment now."

Glaring up at the weequay, the newly named Huno pulled a small box out from his belt and threw it at him. "That's all I have."

Opening up the box, the weequay counted out the credits inside. "This covers the interest Huno. Not the debt." He accented his words with a knee to the human's face. "You have until the end of the week to pay. If you can't, then we take your ship. If you run. We chase you down, take your ship and you end up as lunch for one of the Hutt's pets."

After the weequay and his companions left, the human pulled himself up off of the street. "Fucking nerf-humper." He mumbled before limping his way down the street.

Weaving through the crowded streets, Aayla kept the bounty hunter well within her sights as she trailed him. _'He said the name Sing. And he called her a…well given what he called her I would say that is a perfect description of Aurra Sing. And one of the top ten…that's slang for the top ten bounties. All of which are currently held by Jedi from the war.'_ This was her best, and only, lead as to the possible locations of any other Jedi. And she would be damned if she let him slip away from her.

Seeing her target duck into a local cantina, Aayla cursed silently as she saw the hologram displayed above the entrance. A twi'lek dancing around a pole while wearing next to nothing. _'Of course he would pick this place of all places to go into.'_

Pushing down the disgust she felt for what she was about to do, Aayla shrugged off her heavy cloak after making sure her lightsabers were secured inside. She then balled up the cloak and made a few quick alterations to her normal attire before plastering a fake smile on her face and sauntering her way into the club.

A wave a smoke clouded hit her as soon as she entered making her eyes water for a moment. All around the club there were women of all species in varying degrees of undress dancing around small stages to the music being blasted within the club. Moving off to one side, she spotted her targets as he sat down and ordered himself a drink from a skimpily clad waitress before slapping her on the rear.

Keeping her smile, Aayla made her way over to the bounty hunter. Without saying anything she set her cloak down on his table before turning around and plopping down onto his lap. "Hey there handsome." She purred running a finger along his jaw and briefly touching the scar on his face. "Hmm…aren't you a strong one. Tell me how you got this beauty mark. I'm sure it's a fascinating tale."

The entire time she was talking, she delicately pressed on his mind with the Force to make him more susceptible to her advances. "Damn right sweet thing." Huno smiled toothily as one of his hands wandered up the length of her thigh. "Got it from one of those Jedi scum on Ord Mantell."

Aayla felt her muscles tense at the man's choice of words, but years of undercover work with the Order allowed her to keep her composure. "You must be incredible to go toe to toe with one of those traitors and come out with only a scar."

"Ha! Damn right lass." Keeping one arm around her, the man pulled out his blaster and proceeded to show off by spinning it around his finger several times before seamlessly re-holstering it. "One of the fastest draws in the Outer Rim. And that Jedi that gave me this…I repaid him with a bolt right between his eyes."

"Mmm…impressive big boy." Aayla grinned wickedly while grinding herself against his lap. "I bet there's no lack with bounties around now are there?"

"Damn right." Huno grinned as he took his drink from the waitress before draining half of the glass in one go. "In fact…just about caught myself one of the Top-Ten. Would've cashed it in too if not for that bitch Aurra Sing."

"Top-Ten?" Aayla asked, playing dumb.

Nodding, Huno finished off the last of his drink before waving to the waitress for another one. "That's what we hunters call the top ten bounty payouts in the galaxy. Right now all ten spots are filled by those high ranking Jedi generals from the Clone Wars. And I damn near caught number ten herself, Ahsoka Tano. Hmm, easy there lass! You'll be gettin' the ride of your life courtesy of not-so-little Huno soon enough."

 _'Ahsoka…they captured little Ahsoka?'_

Hearing her friends name brought up a slew of emotions that she thought she'd buried. Confusion. Anger. Frustration. All of which had been directed at the Jedi Council and the Senate due their treatment and action, or rather lack of action, surrounding the events of Ahsoka's trial. She simply couldn't believe that the young girl, who reminded her so much of herself, would be capable of doing what she supposedly did. If she hadn't been on deployment at the time she would've stood by Ahsoka and helped Skywalker discover who the traitor really was. And then after she was proven innocent…she made the choice to leave the Order. Not that Aayla could really blame her of course. But still…

"Hey lass, ya still with me?"

"Yes." Aayla smiled as she ground herself back into the lap of Huno. "Just had to remember who that was. Wasn't she the student of Skywalker?"

"Yup." Huno nodded as the waitress returned with his second drink. "Not sure what happened to that poster boy. But I would've loved the chance to have bag and tagged that pompous asshole. But still…the fact that I almost got his little protégé would've been just as sweet. But did that happen? No. Because Aurra-fucking-Sing had to go in and collect my bounty. I'm sure she was laughing all the way to that Imperial dreadnaught stationed around Dantooine."

Leaning in close so that her lips were brushing against his ear, Aayla nudged at his mind with the Force. "You want to pay your tab and then take me back to your ship."

The bounty hunter nodded, before standing up and placing a few credits onto the table. "Well lass…I want to show you to my ship. This way."

Gritting her teeth as she felt Huno slide his hand down her back before coming to a stop on her ass, Aayla kept the smile plastered across her face as she picked up her cloak and let the bounty hunter guide her back through the crowded streets of Nar Shaddaa.

Huno's ship wasn't necessarily anything overly impressive, but it would suit her needs for the time being. "Just finished fully restocking her." Huno bragged as he led her onboard. "Maybe the two of us could go for a nice little cruise around Hutt space. I can guarantee to show you sights you've never dreamed of."

"Do you have any droids?" Aayla asked offhandedly.

"Nah, never really cared for them. No one takes care of my baby but me." Huno smirked before licking his lips and pressing her against the wall. "Now then lass…what say we have some fun?"

Smiling, Aayla waved her hand in front of her and forced her way into his mind with far more force than what was necessary. "You want to make a sweep of your ship and collect all of the tracking beacons that you've placed on it and bring them too me."

The man's eyes clouded for a second as her Force Compulsion took hold. Backing away from her, he turned around and went over to the nearest computer bank. "I want to make a sweep of the ship and collect all of the tracking beacons." A full ten minutes later he came back to her with six tracking beacons.

Taking them from him, she destroyed each one before waving her hand in front of his face again. "Now you want to go back to the cantina. You don't remember why you came back to your ship."

Eyes clouding over once more, Huno nodded. "I want to head back to the bar. I don't know why I even came back to my ship in the first place."

Once Huno had left the ship, Aayla secured the boarding ramp and made her way to the cockpit. A small part of her did feel bad that she was basically condemning a man to death. But she pushed those thoughts aside. By his own admission he'd already killed at least one Jedi. And he was at least partially responsible for the capture of one of her friends. As far as she was concerned…he was on his own.

Settling herself into the pilot's seat, she ran a quick preflight check on her new ship. Once she was in orbit, she quickly pulled up the navcomputer and plotted a course for Dantooine. 'I failed you once Ahsoka.' She said to herself as her ship rocketed into hyperspace. 'The entire Order failed you. But I promise you…as long as I draw breath I won't fail you again.'

As her ship evened out in the hyperspace lane, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. 'Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order.'

* * *

Standing on top of a high sand dune, Obi-Wan Kenobi watched as the infant Luke Skywalker was taken into his new home by his aunt and uncle. Luke would be safe here. The Empire, and more specifically Darth Vader, had no reason to come to a planet so far out in the Outer Rim. After all…Owen and Beru were the only remnants of Anakin Skywalker. Remnants that Vader did not want to encounter. He hoped. It was a gamble after all.

Turning his back on the small moisture farm, Obi-Wan climbed back onto his speeder and made his way back towards the small little hut he'd crafted for himself. Four hours of traveling through the sands later, and Kenobi was back at the small hut he now called home.

Walking into his hut, he shrugged of his outer robe and poured himself a glass of water before sitting down on the small couch he'd set up. Reaching into the container next to him, he pulled out his best friend's…his brother's lightsaber and set it onto the table before him. 'What could I have done differently?'

It wasn't the first time he'd asked himself this question. Nor even the hundredth. Yet still he had no answer for it. Conventional thinking would say that it was Anakin's attachment to Padme that led him down this dark path. Or at least that is what some of the high members of the Order would've said. And if he were being completely honest with himself, he thought the same. At least until he had time to actually sit down and think.

Padme was not the reason for Anakin's fall. In fact, upon reflection it was probably Padme and her conviction to duty that kept Anakin in the Jedi Order. No. There was only one who could truly be blamed for Anakin's fall. And that was Obi-Wan himself. He should've seen what the now Emperor of the Galactic Republic was doing to his Padawan. He should've been more supportive of him. He should've come out to his friend and brother a long time ago and admitted to him that he knew of his and Padme's relationship and that, despite the fact that it went against the Jedi Order…that he supported it.

Anakin's connection to Padme never made Anakin weak. Nor did it ever cause him to waver. If anything…his attachment to his wife had given strength he needed to preserve and return to her. It was a feeling that Obi-Wan himself had experience as well.

Putting the lightsaber away, he pulled out a small holo-recording disk and placed it on the table. Immediately an image of Satine Kryze emerged. It was a recording of one of her many public addresses.

Leaning back, Obi-Wan felt his eyes moisten as the memories of his only love assaulted him. The time when he was still but a Padawan and tried to carry her to safety, only to drop her and leave her with a scar. A scar she refused to have healed saying that it always reminded her of him. To the time when she was kidnapped by Merrik and the two confessed their feelings for one another. To when he defied the Council and the Senate by heading out alone to help her after Darth Maul captured her. To the utter heartbreaking agony of holding her in his arms as she died. But despite it all the pain their attachment placed on him…he would do anything to hold her in his arms once again.

Many in the Order would've, and did, chastise him for his attachment to Satine. Saying that he was heading down a dark path by allowing his feelings for her to grow. But no matter what…he could never find anything dark about his feelings for Satine. Just being around her made him want to be a better person. Maybe…just maybe there was something to that. Not anger or hatred. But…but using emotions to want to better one's self.

Sinking down onto his knees, he closed his eyes and let Satine's calming voice flow through him as he entered a meditative trance. _'Passion, yet peace. Serenity, yet emotion. Chaos, yet order.'_

* * *

Stepping off the shuttle with the newly anointed Grand Inquisitor by his side Darth Vader, formerly known as Anakin Skywalker, stared down at the assembled mass before him. Moff Tarkin had spared no expense for his arrival. Every nonessential crewmember of the dreadnought were standing at attention within the docking bay with Moff Tarkin himself standing just beyond the boarding ramp to the shuttle.

"Lord Vader." Moff Tarkin greeted, bowing his head respectfully. "We are honored that you have graced us with your presence."

"You may dispense with the pleasantries Moff Tarkin." Vader drawled as he walked past the Moff. "I am here for the Jedi."

"Of course, Lord Vader." Moff Tarkin acknowledge as he hurried to keep up with Vader's longer strides. "Quite the little troublemaker. Per the Emperor's orders, we have already begun questioning. But this Jedi has proven to be most…uncooperative."

"How was this Jedi captured?" The Grand Inquisitor asked from behind them.

Tarkin merely shrugged. "I am unsure of the details of her capture Inquisitor. A half dozen bounty hunters hailed us a week ago informing us that they had a Jedi for us."

"Half a dozen bounty hunters took down a single Jedi?" The Inquisitor asked sounding skeptical.

Again, Tarkin shrugged. "As I understand it, they're used to be two-dozen in this particular bounty hunter group before they ran into our resident Jedi. They finally caught her as she was trying to upload some sort of message onto the holonet. Ah, and here we are."

As the door to the interrogation cell opened, Vader was treated to a sight that he never thought he would see. Hanging in the middle of the room with her wrist bound in a pair of Force resistant shackles was none other than Barriss Offee.

Stepping into the room, Barriss flinched at the sound of his heavy footfalls but kept her eyes shut. Dried blood streaked down from her mouth, nose, and ears. Her body littered with black bruises and cuts. "How long have you been questioning her?" The Grand Inquisitor asked taking a step towards the seemingly unconscious woman.

"Twenty hours a day since the day she was brought to us." Tarkin replied. "We vary the four hours we are not questioning her so she cannot tell time."

As Vader took another step towards her, Barriss's eyes opened. "T-traitor."

Amazingly…the word didn't even bother him. "Amusing sentiment coming from one such as yourself Barriss Offee." Vader intoned, walking around the hanging woman.

As he came around to her front, he was greeted in a most unexpected manner. The spittle that flew from Barriss' lips landed right over the eyepiece of his mask. "My M-master was at the T-temple when y-you attacked! Sh-she told me wh-what you did. Why d – don't you ta – take off the m-m-mask. Sk –Skywalker! A – ashamed o – of what you – you've done?"

Wiping the blood filled spit off of his mask, Vader glared at the woman. "Skywalker is dead. I killed him."

Barriss glared at him as she hung limply. "Just like you killed S-Senator Amidala." That made Vader stop dead. "Everyone knew Skywalker. M-my Master sa-said so. The only reason the C-counicl had-hadn't acted before was because of your status in the war. Tell me…Vader…did Senator Amidala kill herself after seeing what you did-"

Vader didn't scream or yell, he simply lashed out with the Force and struck Barriss across the chest. But instead of knocking her back, he used the Force to break each of her ribs one at a time in several places. All the while making sure those same ribs didn't puncture anything vital. "Skywalker is dead. P – Senator Amidala is dead. You will gain nothing by naming either of them." Vader seethed as he allowed his anger to consume him.

Barriss head rolled back as she screamed at the top of her lungs as Vader continued to systematically break her. Eventually the pain became too much and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "Treat her." Vader commanded, letting her go as a medical droid quickly rolled forward.

Turning, to face Tarkin and the Grand Inquisitor. Neither of whom seemed the least bit repulsed by what he'd just done. 'Good. They have the strength to do what is necessary.' "You know the Emperor's commands Grand Inquisitor." He said, addressing his fellow Sith. "Continue to question her. Use her pain to draw out the Jedi. And once they come, capture them and treat them in the same manner."

"Yes, Lord Vader." The Grand Inquisitor bowed.

Taking a step towards the exit, Vader stopped just shy of the door. "And let it be known…that should you or your fellow Inquisitors fail to capture another Jedi before the current one dies from the questioning…then they will take their place."

"Yes, Lord Vader."

* * *

Leaning back in her pilot's seat on board the newly dubbed _Howling Wind_ former slave, former Jedi Padawan, former Dark Acolyte, former Nightsister, former bounty hunter and recently believed to be deceased Asajj Ventress watched as her ship flew through the hypnotic blue swirling of hyperspace. The last of her titles was a ruse concocted by herself and her lover Quinlan Vos on the planet Christophsis after she'd been struck and left for dead by her former Master Count Dooku. The whole reason for the ruse was simple. She wanted to live on her own terms. And for someone with as much clout behind her name as she, that was simply not possible. But if everyone believed her to be dead. Then it was possible.

And in the end, it was a good thing that her death had been faked. She still remembered with crystal clarity hearing about the Jedi Purge on the holonet. She was still having trouble believing that Darth Sidious had been the Supreme Chancellor all this time. But in a way, it made sense. With his position as the leader of the Republic and with his control over Dooku, he effectively controlled every aspect of the war. Which also went on to explain why it had dragged on for so long with neither side seemingly gaining an edge over the other.

Hearing a rough coughing sound coming from behind her, Asajj pushed her now nearly shoulder length silver hair behind one ear before getting up out of her seat and moving towards the back of the Banshee. In the cabin area of the ship sitting up on one of the beds was her lover Quinlan.

Staring down at him, she saw that the bandage around his bare chest and stomach was spotted red. "You opened your wounds again." She said stepping into the room and forcing him to lay back down. "I have to re-wrap them and treat them once again for any possible infection. Stubborn idiot."

Quinlan was one of the lucky Jedi to have been on a solo assignment when the purge had hit the Jedi. If he hadn't been…he would've been cut down his own clone troopers or worse. He would've been at the Jedi temple when the Emperor's new right hand, Darth Vader, stormed the temple and ruthlessly put down the so-called Jedi rebellion.

But just because he was alone didn't mean he got away unscathed. When the list came out detailing the names and subsequently bounties that'd been placed on the Jedi Vos ended up being tracked by no less than three dozen bounty hunters as he tried to make his way to their secret rendezvous location. By the time she got to him all of the bounty hunters were dead and Vos had been shot once in leg, once in the shoulder and twice in the gut.

Staring up at her, Quinlan gave her a sideways grin that never failed to irk her. "Careful Asajj…I might just start believing that you care for me."

Ignoring his comment, Asajj pulled his bandage aside. He had indeed opened his wound was again. Picking up a pair of cutting sheers, she cut the bandages away before picking up a cloth and coating it with antiseptic before wiping at his wounds. "Ah! That stings!"

"Then you shouldn't move around." Asajj smirked as she removed the rag and began to re-apply the bandages. "And besides…you've been hurt worse than this."

A deft hand caught her just as she finished securing the last bandage and before she knew it she was being pulled forward so her entire length was pressed against Quinlan's. Quinlan's eyes stared at her and she felt her breath catch in her throat. Without a word, the two closed the distance between them and then there were no more words spoken for some time.

"Your bandages are ruined again." Asajj said mildly breathlessly as she laid against her lover without a stitch of clothing on either of them.

"Eh, worth it." Quinlan smiled at her before pulling her up for another kiss.

Breaking the kiss, Asajj sat up in the small bed and rested her back against the wall. "So what do we do now?" She asked. "We can't go to any of the core worlds. Hutt space is out of the question. We could hide in the Outer Rim, but where?"

With only a slight groan, Quinlan managed to sit up beside her. "Honestly…I don't know. But I do know of someone who can and will help us."

"The voice from the warning." Asajj stated as she leaned her head back. "We don't even know if that was real or just wishful thinking."

"It was real." Quinlan said with conviction. "We both heard it. And we were nearly on opposite sides of the galaxy when we did. Whoever this Force user is…they managed to stem the tide of the purge. And they promised to come back for us."

"Promises mean nothing." Asajj spat. Her life had been a series of one broken promise after another.

"Maybe. Or…perhaps instead of waiting we try to find this Force user ourselves." Quinlan said making her turn her head towards him. "It's better than just running and hiding from this new Empire for the rest of our lives." He pointed out.

The idea did have some merit. "And what if we find this Force user…then what?"

"Then we live our lives together." Quinlan countered. "Whoever this Force user is…they have to be powerful. Powerful enough to avoid the detection of both the Jedi and the Sith. I'm sure that they can hide two more."

"And what if you find this Force user and discover that they aren't Jedi?" Asajj countered while looking at her lover out of the corner of her eye. "Would you accept help from a Sith?"

"Well…considering the fact that I fell in love with one I think I would be able to live with that. As long as they aren't…too Sith-y. But whoever this Force user is…for some reason I don't think they're Sith. At least not entirely. And the whole promising vengeance thing sort of rules out any Jedi. At least all the Jedi I know. Or…used to know."

"So we go and try to find this Force user. Okay…how?" Asajj asked with a raised brow.

Quinlan merely shrugged at her question. "We let the Force guide us love." He said with a soft smile.

Scoffing, Asajj got up off the bed and started sliding back into her robes. "And the Force has done such a wonderful job so far." She murmured sarcastically. "The Force has guided me to nothing but betrayal."

"The Force guided us together Asajj." She heard Quinlan murmur as he placed a kiss to the back of her neck. "And if you don't trust the Force to guide you, then let me ask you this. Where are we going?"

Asajj was about to answer, but then shut her mouth. Honestly…she didn't know where they were going. After pulling Quinlan out of their safehouse, she threw him into her ship and entered a hyperspace coordinate seemingly at random.

Shooting up to her feet, Asajj bolted out of the cabin and to the cockpit. Sitting down in the pilot's seat, she quickly pulled up the navcomputer and checked their trajectory. The Force only knew what course she'd set them on. "Well?" Quinlan, who'd somehow managed to get dress in such a short amount of time, asked as he leaned over her shoulder. "Where are we heading?"

Pulling up the map, Asajj's eyes widened as she saw where they were heading. "Nowhere."

"What?" Quinlan asked raised brow of confusion, "Sorry, where?"

Turning in her seat, she glared at her lover. "You are not hard of hearing Quinlan. I said we're heading nowhere. Into uncharted space." Turning back around, she began the process of turning off the autopilot. "We need to stop an-"

"Let it go Asajj." Quinlan said softly as he laid a hand on her own. "Trust in the Force, let go."

But she didn't want to let go. She had to be in control. She needed to be in control. "You've taught me much about the Force Asajj. Much more than I ever thought I would learn." Quinlan whispered into her ear, his hand never leaving her own. "Now let me teach you something. Trust in the Force. Let go."

"…Fine." She murmured after a long pause letting her hand drop back down to her side.

"Good." Quinlan smiled dropping down into the co-pilots seat. "So…you know how to play sabacc?"

* * *

Slapping his hand down hard on the insistent buzzing, Harry shook his head a few times before sitting up in his bed. Rubbing his eyes, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and got up and started to get dressed. Once fully dressed he walked out of the empty sleeping section of the tent that he shared with Ron, who was more than likely in the galley playing dejarik with whoever was dumb enough to challenge him, and exited the wizarding tent. Sparing the girl's tent a quick look Harry debate seeing if any of them were awake before deciding better of it and exiting the cabin the two tents were set up in.

If any of them, and by them he meant his fellow students, thought that this summer was going to be easy they were sorely mistaken. After the first twenty-four hour cycle his mother had presented each of them with a schedule that they were expected to maintain. According to this schedule in a twenty-four hour cycle they were allotted seven hours for rest, twelve hours towards studying, three hours towards ship duties and the last two hours they were free to do whatever they wanted.

The twelve hours of studying was further broken down in physical training, magical study and non-magical studying like mathematics and science as well as learning galactic basic. Which amazing enough wasn't too terribly difficult as it was remarkably similar to English. Huttese though…that was language that none of them were picking up anytime soon. The ship duties comprised primarily of cleaning and learning how to maintain the ship.

The studying was broken down into several parts. Each cycle their studies would alter between magical theory and practice, Force theory and practice, galactic history, as well as mathematics and science. Their physical training was also broken down into lightsaber, hand to hand, endurance and even weapons training with the few blaster pistols and rifle his mother had confiscated from the previous owners of this ship all those years ago.

The only person to complain about the schedule had been Ron, but he only made that mistake once. His mother had made him clean every inch of the interior of the ship with the smallest brush she could find, a toothbrush, while maintaining his other studies and training. And he had to do all of it within twenty-four hours. Amazingly he'd managed to finish it all, if only barely. But after that he never complained again. Hermione of course had been in her element. But after ten days straight, even she was starting to slow down.

Stepping out into the hallway, Harry pulled out his wand and cast a quick tempus. 'Still have two hours till it's my rotation for ship duty. Might as well head over to the cockpit for a while.'

Canceling the spell and putting his wand away he turned and made the short trip to the cockpit. Stepping into the small room, he saw a mass of red hair sitting in co-pilots seat. "Hey Susan," he said making his fellow apprentice jump slightly.

"Harry," Susan growled as she paused the flight simulator program she was running. "You made me crash."

"Sorry about that," he smiled, taking the pilot's seat next to her and staring out at the swirling blue light of hyperspace. "Anything come up?"

One thing that his mother had been insistent upon was that all of them learn how to pilot, as even when the ship was in hyperspace someone still needed to be in either the pilot's or co-pilot's seat in case of an emergency. To date, Ginny had clocked the most hours behind the pilot's seat by far. His little apprentice was proving to be quite a natural when it came to flying and had already passed nearly all of the flight simulator programs that'd been loaded up into the ship's mainframe.

"Nope." Susan remarked, closing down the flight program and leaning back in her seat. "Just the same blue swirling light show. Although…it is rather pretty to watch."

Nodding his consent, Harry leaned forward and was about to active his own flight simulator program when the nav computer's alarm sounded. "Looks like we're almost at our first destination." Harry commented, sitting up further in his seat. "Susan, go and get my mother. Let her know that we've just entered the Dantooine system and should be at this smuggler's asteroid in an hour or two tops."


	20. Sequel Posted

**A/N:**

This is not a real chapter. Just wanted to post an update to everyone and let you know that the sequel to this story, **IATB: The Rise** has been published. Hope that you all enjoy and thank you so much for all of your support with this story so far!


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